


Survival of the Fittest - Battle for Erebor

by Blueskydancers



Series: Survival of the Fittest [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit RPF, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueskydancers/pseuds/Blueskydancers
Summary: Following on fromSurvival of the FittestandSurvival of the Fittest - Ten Years OnThis story is unlikely to make much sense if you haven't read either of those.Winter is over. Bolg and his group are on the move and heading for Erebor aiming to enslave the settlement there.





	1. Day 4319: 9 March 2015

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is no longer a WIP - it is finished the later chapters just need a bit of tidying up before they are ready to post!

The sun had been down for nearly an hour and Sean was just sitting down to eat when twelve year old Danny McPhee raced through the doors of the hall. The lad had just started another growth spurt and looked like a particularly ungainly deer as he staggered to a halt in a tangle of overlong limbs. Having regained his balance he looked around until he spotted Sean. Rushing over he almost landed on Sean before choking out a message that was completely unintelligible due to his gasps for breath.

“Hang on a minute, Danny, get your breath back. There’s nothing important going to happen in the next ten seconds,” Sean advised, trying desperately not to laugh at how eager Danny appeared. 

After two more garbled attempts and a full minute to regain his breath the lad said with a bit more clarity, “It’s Aidan, he’s back and he’s got two others with him. The Laird sent me to find you and let you know that he’s bringing them straight here. He’s offered them food.”

“Good lad, get off home now for your own supper. I’ll sort out dinner for our guests.”

“Yes, Sean.” With a beaming smile, Daniel nodded vigorously and rushed back through the door nearly knocking over their visitors in the process. Sean couldn’t help smiling in return. Danny had developed a fair old case of hero worship for Aidan during his stay in Poolewe earlier in the year.

“Danny! Be careful!” Davie MacNeil chided as he narrowly avoided being run down.

“Sorry, Sir.” Danny’s face flushed red with embarrassment and he quickly fled the hall.

Sean stood as Davie came closer. He recognised Aidan and Graham at once but the blond man with them was a stranger. From his approximate age, Sean assumed that this had to be Dean, Aidan’s brother.

Davie ushered the visitors towards the table, and once again, Sean was impressed how Davie had grown into the role of Laird. He’d taken the mantle of clan chief of the people while still a boy after his mother’s death, and had led the group who had come to Poolewe from the island of Barra for more than ten years. He was a strong leader who was not fearful of taking responsibility for his decisions but neither was he afraid to ask for advice. Over the last ten years, their entire way of life had needed to change. As the trappings of modern life had vanished, communities had transformed, learning to exist in a way that was frighteningly similar to that of a pre Industrial Revolution Britain, with everyone learning to make and mend what they needed and replacing mechanisation and automation with their own physical labour.

Aidan didn’t wait for formal introductions; he hurried forward and pulled Sean into an unexpected hug. “Hey, Sean, it’s good to see you again. Where’s Orlando?” He pointed to the blond of their group. “You already know Graham but this is Dean, my brother.”

Sean extricated himself from Aidan’s grasp and moved over to Dean, offering his hand. “Good to finally meet you, Dean. You’re fully recovered I hope or Orlando won’t be happy with you travelling so far.”

“No, I’m as good as new.” Dean grinned at him and Sean saw the similarity in manner between him and Aidan at once.

Sean waved his hand towards the table. “Come on, sit down and eat. Lan will be here as soon as he finishes up his calls.”

Accustomed to the routine in Poolewe, Aidan was the first to shed his outer garments, hanging them on the hooks provided by the door, Dean and Graham followed suit and, by the time they’d taken their seats at the table, Sean had arranged for bowls of stew and fresh baked bread to be placed in front of each of them. 

Davie nodded at them. “You must all be tired after your journey so I’ll leave you be tonight but perhaps we can get together in the morning to begin to make plans? I also need to thank you for making the journey here and the tools you’ve brought with you.”

“It’s not a problem, Orlando wasn’t confident he could find Erebor again on his own and the tools are the least we can do,” Graham responded.

“Aye, well, we’ve a real need for replacements as you know and they’ll make a huge difference to our food production efforts this year. Anyway don’t let me keep you from your meal; I’ll be off home for my dinner now.” Giving a farewell nod Davie headed over to the doors of the hall. 

“How’s Orlando?” Dean asked Sean around a spoonful of stew.

“Busy as usual,” Sean sighed. “I know he’s the only properly qualified doctor we have but he’s done a huge amount to pass on his skills to several of the other villagers. Meg was a student nurse before the plague and Will had just started training as a dentist; they are both really keen to help but some of the older people are still reluctant to see them. They keep insisting on seeing the ‘proper doctor’ which is a slap in the face for them and puts too much pressure on Lan.”

“Yeah, I got that impression from things he said when he was in Erebor,” Dean responded. “He was worried about what would happen while he was away helping me.”

“That sounds like him. He takes his responsibilities seriously and as a result is on call twenty-four seven, every day. To be honest he’s running himself ragged and I’m worried about him. Maybe being away will be a good thing as people will need to go to the others instead.” Sean stopped then, surprised that he had said so much, but Dean was a good listener and perhaps it was what he needed to talk with someone who was outside and could offer a more objective viewpoint.

“Aidan mentioned that someone called Viggo also has some medical training,” Dean said.

Sean nodded. “He does but his specialities are immunology and microbiology not medicine. Orlando may not have finished his long term training in any medical specialism but he’d done a year in emergency medicine because he wanted to specialise in accident and emergency work so his knowledge far exceeds Vig’s.”

“I know he’s planning on starting to teach some things to Stephen and Adam which is going to be a huge bonus for us in Erebor. We’ve been lucky so far that most of us are enhanced, there’ve been a couple of accidents that could have been much worse otherwise.”

Realising he was sounding incredibly negative Sean gave himself a mental shake. “That’s true and it will help. I think the bigger issue is that there aren’t the facilities any more for proper medical teaching and even with the best will in the world Orlando will only be able to pass on a part of his knowledge and experience. He doesn’t discuss it but I know he feels he’s fighting a losing battle and that in two generations we could be back to relying on hedgerow witches and superstition.”

Fortunately, before Sean could voice any more maudlin thoughts Aidan spoke while waving a piece of bread around. “I can’t remember the last time I tasted bread this good. Stephen’s a great cook but his baking isn’t up to much.”

“That’s very true.” Graham nodded in agreement.

It took Sean a moment to realise that Aidan’s interruption had actually been a deliberate ploy to change the subject and give him a few minutes to get his thoughts back under control before Orlando returned. Sean glanced his way and saw that Aidan had a bland look on his face and was giving nothing away. Perhaps he’d done a bit more growing up in the past couple of months.

The three were starting on their second bowl of stew when Orlando came through the doorway, shaking the rain out of his hair. Shedding his outer clothes, Orlando joined them at the table. He was smiling so Sean hoped that meant he’d had a good day.

“Dean, how are you now?” Sean had to hide a grin at the appraising look his partner directed at Dean. Once a doctor, always a doctor as he well knew.

“I’m fine, as good as new, thanks to you.”

“How is everyone else in Erebor?”

Before anyone could answer, Sean leaned closer and resting a hand on Orlando’s shoulder said, “I’ll get you some dinner.”

Orlando lifted his hand and placed it over Sean’s for a moment before squeezing it gently. “That would be great, I’m starving.”

“No change there then.” Sean gave him a rueful smile.

When Sean got back to the table with a bowl of stew for Orlando, the others had finished eating. The food, warmth of the room and two days of hard travel had had an effect and they were all looking sleepy. 

“A few of the villagers have offered to put you up if you wanted but otherwise there are some bunks in the rooms off the hall over there if you would prefer.” Sean motioned to the back of the hall.

Dean and Aidan both looked towards Graham as though they were used to him making the decisions and Sean had to admit that the youngsters did look more tired. In fact Aidan had his elbow on the table and was resting his head on his upturned hand. As Sean watched his eyes closed and he seemed to have fallen asleep.

Taking one look at him, Graham said, “We’ll stay here I think. We wouldn’t want to inconvenience anyone and I don’t think Aidan is going to wake up enough to sensibly go anywhere else tonight.”

“He can still fall asleep at the drop of a hat can’t he?” Sean laughed before continuing. “It wouldn’t be a problem but you’d probably be more comfortable here anyway especially as we’re heading back out early tomorrow.”

“Aye, that’s the plan.” Graham nodded and at the same time, he nudged Aidan’s elbow, making the younger man jolt awake with a start. “Come on; let’s get you to a bed.”

“I’m fine, really,” Aidan mumbled, trying to look alert. “I’ve got something I need to do.”

“Give it up, laddie. You’re asleep on your feet. Whatever it is can’t be that important and can wait until the morning.” 

Aidan opened his mouth to protest but before he could voice his complaint Dean grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. “Graham’s right, it can wait.”

Pushing his younger but taller brother in front of him Dean guided him towards the bunk rooms Sean had indicated.

Once they were out of sight Orlando looked over at Graham. “Do you have any idea what that was about?”

“No.” Graham looked as puzzled as Orlando.

“I might,” Sean offered.

When they both looked at him Sean said, “When he was here earlier I think Aidan got friendly with some of the villagers close to his own age. He killed some wolves that were worrying the sheep and said he was going to use the some of the pelts to make a jacket. At the time I didn’t pay too much attention because I assumed the jacket would be for him, but I wonder now if that wasn’t the case after all.”

“You think it’s for Ellie McPhee?” Orlando said following Sean’s train of thought easily as it was a discussion they’d touched on before. 

“He’s been working on something in secret over the last couple of months,” Graham mused. “But he’s too young and she’s got to be the first girl he’s had any real contact with.” 

“He’s what? Twenty-two now?” Sean responded. “He’s not too young to be attracted to someone or even to think about settling down. We’re going to need lots of children to ensure that the human race survives after all.”

“And, childbirth is much easier the earlier you do it. It’s one of the reasons girls were married so young back in the Middle Ages,” Orlando added. “The biggest cause of death amongst older women of child bearing age here in Poolewe now, is due to complications of pregnancy.”

“He’s almost twenty three but with zero experience unless he was a really early starter.” Graham grimaced at that thought. “I think I’m glad we’re leaving tomorrow. If he’s serious about this lassie, then so be it, but I think he needs to spend a bit more time getting to know her first. Right now, I wouldn’t put it past the lad to move too fast and then have to worry about the consequences. I reckon her grandfather is more likely to take a pot shot at the lad than try to force them into a shotgun wedding.”

An hour later, Sean and Orlando were back in their small cottage having left their visitors safely tucked up for the night. 

“You want some tea?” Orlando asked as he hung the kettle over the peat fire that was their only way of cooking or heating the room. 

Sean shrugged out of his sweater and shook his head. “No, it’ll be an early start in the morning, so I was planning on turning in pretty soon. I want to make the most of being able to sleep in a bed.”

Orlando came up behind him, clasped his arms around Sean’s waist and whispered in his ear, “That sounds like a good idea. I think I’ll join you.” 

Tilting his head to just about see his lover, Sean replied, “You will?”

“Definitely.” Orlando confirmed before taking the kettle off the fire and pulling Sean into the bedroom.

**Day 4320: 10 March 2015**  
The following morning, after a slightly later than planned start; Sean led his pony over to the group waiting by the defensive gate that opened onto the bridge over the River Ewe, which formed the sea outlet for Loch Maree. Davie MacNeil was travelling to Erebor with them and Graham had reassured them all that making the return trip in only two days was perfectly possible without causing undue stress on them or the ponies. With Davie being the only non-enhanced one of the group Sean made a mental note to keep an eye on him to make sure the rest of them were not expecting too much from him.

Graham, Dean and Davie, already dressed for travelling, were there talking with Viggo and Steve. Dean was holding the reins of another pony so that meant they were only waiting for Aidan to set out. The lad turned up a few minutes later, somewhat dishevelled and out of breath but with a broad smile. A poke in the shoulder from his brother dimmed the smile somewhat as Aidan busied himself with checking the tack on his pony.

Sean smiled, well whatever was going on, it appeared that Aidan had at least shared some information with his brother. Hopefully, Dean would be sensible enough to stop Aidan getting in over his head if it was only an infatuation borne out of young Ellie being the first girl, near to his own age, whom Aidan had spent any time with.

Travelling along the eastern side of the loch, though there was no road, cut almost ten miles off their journey, which was a good saving on a total trip length of nearly one hundred miles. Of course the loch side route wasn’t usable in the winter or very wet conditions when the water level could rise dangerously. 

Walking his pony next Graham’s, Sean pointed at the water in the loch. “I’m wondering if it would be possible to dam the river and flood this valley to protect Poolewe against Bolg and his Orcs, if they decide to come this way. We’d have to be careful to make sure we can release the water safely and not flood the town.”

“Aye, that might be possible. It’ll be a big job though and summer would probably be the best time to attempt it, we’d need a dry spell so that the river was as low as possible.”

“Is there anyone in Erebor who would know if it could be done?”

“Of course. “ Graham laughed, “Most of the family specialised in some form of engineering if they didn’t go into the army. Peter and his son John were civil engineers before the plague, so they’ll be able to tell you if it is feasible and what would need to be done.”

The weather had been kind when they set out that morning but just after they had crossed the Inveran River, a fine drizzle had swept in from the sea making visibility difficult and riding uncomfortable. Sean had forgotten how kind the microclimate around Poolewe was because trips away from the settlement had been few and far between for him over the past couple of years. Ducking his head down into his collar, he concentrated on watching where he was going.

Laughter from behind made him look around to where Dean and Aidan were bringing up the rear of their small group. Graham who was still riding in comfortable silence beside him, muttered, “I’d best go and see what those two are up to before they do something daft. By the end of the winter they’re usually stir crazy. They’ve been over the moon at the chance to come on this trip and get out of the mountain. I don’t want to think what Richard would do to me if I went back without them.”

Shaking his head in mock despair, Graham reined in his pony and dropped back to the rear of the line.

They re-joined the road at Taagan and although the tarmac surface was rutted where plants had grown through it, it was still easier to make their way along the raised surface than through the pine forest and moorland that bordered the road.

The rest of the day’s travelling was uneventful and it was with relief, because he hadn’t spent a day in the saddle in a long time, that Sean finally dismounted near the old Achanalt railway station. Graham had told him that he and the lads had used the old station building before on their travels because there was a ready supply of clean water close by.

The station building was empty, with anything useful long since taken away. The walls were thick local stone and still sound though the roof was beginning to show sign of needing repair. It wasn’t going to be much longer before anything left from before the plague was of no further use to the survivors, Sean mused as he started to remove the bare essentials from his travel pack.

While Dean and Davie began to sort out their rations, Aidan started a fire in the old fireplace. Once they’d eaten and cleared up, Sean helped Orlando to lay out their bedding a safe distance from the fire. With Graham taking the lead, they divided the watch up between them but Sean felt as though he had barely closed his eyes before Graham was getting them all up and moving again.

**Day 4321: 11 March 2015**  
The sun was low in the sky and, as they had been travelling since dawn, Sean found himself yawning almost constantly as they started on the last part of their journey, along the old Forestry Commission track that led to the main gates of Erebor. Because Orlando had travelled the route before, all be it in much worse weather, he wasn’t paying as much attention to the surroundings as Davie and himself. With a grin Sean realised they were behaving almost like tourists, a concept long forgotten since the plague had swept around the world. Tourism and the ease of travel everywhere had only made transmission of the virus that much quicker and easier.

The last part of the journey was a steep climb up along a path that snaked back and forth across the face of the mountain. The narrowness of the path was an added security precaution but it also meant he had to pay attention. His mount must have sensed that the end of the journey was near because it had suddenly gained a lot of energy. Letting the animal find its own path, Sean sat back and concentrated on not falling off.

Finally though, he could see lanterns in the distance and very soon he saw the huge gates that covered the entrance to Erebor. Though Orlando had told him of them, Sean hadn’t really understood their magnitude. They dwarfed everything around them and their weight and thickness was astounding. It was a demonstration of the amazing engineering skills of the inhabitants to have hung gates of such size.

There was a group waiting for them just in front of the gates and Sean recognised Richard’s tall figure immediately. He was standing with several others but as soon as Aidan and Dean saw him they practically threw themselves off their respective ponies and onto him. After mutual hugs all around, Richard led the way inside.

Once they were through the gates, Sean slid down from his pony. As soon as his feet hit the floor he saw that the entire cavern he was standing in had been carved out of solid rock. Looking around in the flickering light from the oil lanterns he couldn’t see the roof of the chamber but the echoes that rolled around the space told him it was a long way above them.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Sean. By the time he had been introduced to several men, all favouring lots of facial hair along with complex braids in the hair on their heads, and had eaten, he wanted nothing more than to fall into bed. Fortunately, Richard had spotted their collective tiredness and had arranged for him and Orlando to be shown to a room as soon as they had finished their meal. 

Sean barely remembered his head touching the pillow and Orlando huddling up beside him before he was asleep.


	2. Day 4322: 12 March 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean gets to see Erebor and plans are made for the coming confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Following on from [ Survival of the Fittest ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/775848) and [ Survival of the Fittest - Ten Years On ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3469778) This story is unlikely to make much sense if you haven't read either of those.

Sean woke but had no idea if it was already morning because there were no windows. He felt well rested so suspected he’d slept for at least eight hours. Orlando was still asleep; he was lying with his back to Sean but in his sleep had managed to position himself to that he was pressed close to Sean. 

Rolling onto his side, Sean spooned up behind him, enjoying their shared warmth. There was definitely something to be said for the almost constant year round temperatures the inhabitants of the mountain enjoyed.

Moving only slightly, Sean pressed a kiss against the back of Orlando’s neck and wrapped an arm around him. Before long he had dozed off again, waking sometime later when Orlando rolled over so that they were facing each other.

“Morning,” Sean offered, around a jaw cracking yawn.

After a matching yawn, Orlando said, “Did you sleep okay?”

“Fine, better than for a long time. I think I’ve needed something a bit more physical to do.”

Orlando ran his hand over Sean’s waist. “Well I’d noticed you were getting a bit soft around the middle.”

“Bloody cheek!” Sean heard the teasing tone in his lover’s voice and tried to make a joke of it but his heart wasn’t really in it.

Orlando’s hand came to rest against his cheek, his thumb moving slowly over Sean’s mouth, tracing the shape of his upper lip. “What’s wrong?”

Unable to explain exactly why his emotions felt all over the place Sean shrugged, knowing Orlando would pick up on the movement.

“Are you worried about what’s coming in the summer? Bolg’s plans?”

“Yes. I’m worried that we have too few trained men to fight them. Graham was vague as to how many there are here in Erebor and I have no real knowledge of any military experience they might have. Richard said Bolg had nearly a hundred and fifty fighters. We’re going to need to plan well to cope with that.”

“But it’s been that way for the past two months, why do you think you’re suddenly more worried now?”

“The journey over the past couple of days showed me how difficult it is going to be to get the materials we need to fight. We’re reliant on stuff we can scavenge to a large extent and after seeing the state of disrepair of the old station when we stayed there last night, it brought it home even more strongly. The roof was going and we don’t have anyone who can fix it. We’ve not met up with anyone who knows how to thatch or even been able to find a supply of the raw materials –”

Orlando leaned forward and stopped his words with a kiss. “It’s okay, Sean. We’ll figure it out.”

“I worry about you too. You’re only one man and I know you’ve tried to train others but you’re running yourself ragged looking after five hundred people. And if anything should happen to you…” Sean tailed off and cursed himself, he hadn’t meant to give voice to that particular fear.

“I’m here, Sean.” Sean felt Orlando pulling him so he let himself be manhandled into a full body hug. 

“Sorry.” Sean leaned into the hug, trying desperately to memorise how Orlando’s body felt against his. 

“Don’t worry; you don’t have to hide anything from me.”

“I know, really I do. It’s just…” Giving up trying to explain how he felt, Sean let his body speak for him. 

They came together with love and familiarity, each knowing what the other liked. When Sean came it was with a sigh rather than a shout. They lay there together as their breathing calmed and as Sean kissed Orlando softly, his feelings crystallised. For the man in his arms and their friends he would fight Bolg with everything at his disposal. He saw now that was the only way they would be able to preserve what was left of a decent way of life.

~~~

Sometime later, after they had made use of the showers the engineers of Erebor had managed to fabricate, they headed off to find food.

“The dining area is this way,” Orlando said, tugging Sean along by the hand. “It was one of the first places I learned my way to.”

“How did you know when it was a meal time? With no access to natural light there’s no way you can even guess at the time of day.”

“Yeah I know, I found it a bit difficult to start with but there are clocks around the place and I learned pretty quickly where they were. I heard that Bill spends at least an hour each day going around to all the clocks winding them up. Can you believe that? Of course, from a medical point of view, the biggest problem with lack of natural light is the affect it has on the body’s natural circadian rhythm. The more natural length for a person’s biological clock is around twenty-five hours, so unless people are exposed to daylight, their personal clock can move progressively later and put their sleeping patterns severely out of sync. The difference between the number of daylight hours in summer and winter doesn’t help either.”

“How have they combatted it here?” 

Sean voiced the question as they entered the dining room. Richard was standing just inside the doorway and must have heard the conversation because he answered, “We make sure that everyone spends some time outside each day as far as possible. If the weather is too bad then we try to spend some time by the gates where some daylight filters through. We’ve found that as long as people don’t spend more than a week inside they usually can keep to a normal routine for sleeping and eating.

“Speaking of eating, there’s porridge for breakfast. We’ve got some raspberry jam to go with it if you prefer.”

“Where do you get your oats?” Sean asked and then seeing Richard’s stunned look, laughed. “Sorry, that really sounded wrong. What I meant was where do you grow the oats you use?”

When Richard joined in the laughter Sean knew he hadn’t been offended by his badly thought out question.

“We managed to salvage some and store them for several years but since then we’ve traded for them. There’s a community out near Plockton who we do business with.”

“How many live there now?” Davie joined them.

Richard ushered them to a table. “I suppose there are about fifty people there now. Some of them have moved in over the past ten years to create a more viable community and security in numbers.”

“I remember going there before, when I was a wee lad, my mother took me to visit an aunt who’d married someone from the mainland. As I recall they have a similar climate to ours in Poolewe.” Davie added.

Bowls of porridge were placed in front of them and the remaining conversation ceased while they got through the serious task of eating. This was another thing that Sean saw had changed. While food was still a way of bringing people together for celebrations and the like, nowadays no one had the luxury of food to spare or to waste.

After a brief tour of the mountain and introductions to a number of the residents, Richard led the three of them up a long staircase which had been carved into a convenient natural fissure in the rock and into a medium sized room that actually had natural light coming in through a barred window set high up in one wall. Though from what Sean could see, cloud appeared to be shrouding the top of the mountain and raindrops fell almost continually on the glass.

Richard must have seen where he was looking because he said, “It’s toughened glass and we also have a metal shutter we can cover it with, just in case.”

Sean nodded in understanding as Richard took his seat. There were six of them around the table, the three representatives from Poolewe, with Richard, Graham and his brother Ken, making up their number. 

Richard cleared his throat and said, “I’m really pleased you could all join us here in Erebor. Graham, Ken and I have spent the last month or so looking at possible strategies and it seems that the key areas we need to discuss are communications, supplies, defences and our offensive strategy. We’ve been doing some thinking and planning here that we would like to share with you and we’d be happy to hear if you have any further ideas that we can work on together.”

Sean looked over at the three representatives from Erebor. Richard and Graham both looked as though they knew how to handle themselves in a fight, while Ken, with his white hair, beard and twinkle in his eye, looked completely harmless. That probably meant he was the most lethal one in the room Sean decided, as he focused on the conversation.

**Day 4329: 19 March 2015**  
Orlando concentrated on his pony’s footing as they neared the outskirts of Poolewe despite the spring sunshine reflecting off the loch to his left. It has been an uneventful journey back for the three of them and once again they had broken their journey overnight at Achanalt station.

Their time in Erebor had passed quickly. Planning discussions had taken a number of days and then Orlando and Adam had worked on an inventory of the medical supplies and equipment available, all of which meant that they had been away from home for several days longer than anticipated. 

The progress made had been huge and Orlando hoped that both Sean and Davie felt suitably pleased with what had been achieved.

They reached the barricade just after midday, having started out just after sunrise and while Sean and Davie were arranging a meeting to fill in the community’s managing council on what they had agreed, Orlando took their ponies over to the stables and left them with one of the village youngsters to look after. He also sent Danny off with a message to let Will and Meg know he’d returned, just in case they needed him for anything.

He shrugged off his travelling clothes as he reached the hall, hanging them on the hooks provided by the entrance. As he headed over to the table he noticed thankfully that someone had provided them with tea. Steve and Viggo were already there along with Ted MacKinnon who oversaw their food production.

Taking his seat next to Sean, Orlando lifted his mug and took a large sip, luxuriating in the feeling of warmth. He listened as Sean began to explain the information they had been given and the plans that had been agreed. 

“Thanks for getting here so quickly. We’ve got a lot to do over the next few months to prepare so it’s good to be able to brief you on what we discussed in Erebor. Bolg’s group have been pretty much static for the past couple of months during the worst of the weather. It seems that their numbers have dwindled a little, probably due to sickness rather than any sort of internal conflict. Richard is keeping tabs on them and will increase the surveillance as soon as there are signs of activity. He’s planning to send permanent, long term scouting parties out from midsummer. 

“Next, we spoke about communications and we all agreed that the key to being able to combat the threat offered by Bolg, with our lesser numbers, is good communication. Over the last couple of months Richard and his colleagues have been trying to come up with a fool proof way to maintain contact over the distance between Erebor and Poolewe. Fortunately, they have a huge amount of expertise in that respect. I can’t pretend to have understood all the technical details but if you want more information they will be sending some people over to set up the radio equipment in about a month, depending on the weather.”

“Radio?” Steve asked.

Sean nodded, “Yes, it was decided that the best way for us to keep in touch was using ham radio. It’s simple and not reliant on a lot of technology.”

“How are you going to power it?” Steve asked. “We don’t have enough batteries or a way to recharge them.”

Davie responded, “Well, it appears that the men in Erebor are skilled engineers along with being metal workers. They have been experimenting with using salvaged solar arrays to recharge batteries and have succeeded in making something usable. They have also gathered enough equipment to set up something similar here, so that we are not dependent on getting constant supplies of batteries from the mountain.”

“They live in a mountain, how are they going to get a radio signal out?”

“They’ve got plans to install an antenna outside on the hillside, something fairly discreet to avoid making it a target.” Sean explained. 

Steve looked thoughtful. “If the conditions are right we could send a signal halfway around the world. We’d be broadcasting our existence to anyone with the capability to listen in.”

Sean nodded, remembering the awful time when Derek MacQuillan, the architect of the plague which had destroyed the world as they knew it, invaded Barra. Sean had almost lost Orlando then and it wasn’t a memory he liked to recall. “We’ve thought of that and while we don’t think there is a danger of anyone coming here from overseas in the immediate future, it might be interesting to find out what is going on in the rest of the world and make contact with any other survivors. Richard and I have agreed that we don’t give out any information about either of our settlements if we do hear from anyone else.”

Sean looked over at Ted. “We talked about food supplies as well.”

The older man smiled, taking the sting out of his words. “I guessed that, lad; why else would you include me at this meeting?”

“We’ve agreed, subject to your guidance, Ted, to increase our food production as far as possible. Erebor will supply us with any tools we need. I’ve also said that while some of it will be shipped to Erebor in case of a siege there, we will find a way to cache supplies in and around Poolewe. Richard also has an agreement in place with a man called Bard who is in charge of the settlement at Plockton. They’re mostly fishermen and have supplies of dried and salted fish which they are willing to trade. So can I leave you to look at what we can supply and how and where we can store the increased supplies, Ted? I’m going to get Rob Boyd, our carpenter, to start constructing some wagons so that we can transport items between us and Erebor. I do appreciate that Bolg and his group might reach Erebor before the harvest so would like to look at what we can spare from last year for them as well.”

“Aye, Sean, I can have some numbers ready in a few days. It’ll be an approximation but better than nothing.” 

“Orlando has done an inventory of what they have in Erebor and he’ll be there once the fighting starts. He’s already given them lists of the things he thinks they’ll need so they are going to start foraging for medical supplies and equipment immediately.” 

Orlando nodded at Sean before speaking. “I’m also going to see what we might need here in case of injuries. Vig, I expect Meg and Will can cope with most things that might come up while I’m in Erebor but can you keep an eye on them just in case? Just to supply some morale support. If you’re okay with that of course?”

“I can do that.” Viggo gave one of his typical slightly manic grins. “If you give me a list, I’ll see about organising a trip a bit further afield, to Inverness or maybe Glasgow as we’ve already cleaned out most of the closer hospitals, to see what’s left. Groups like Bolg’s are unlikely to have been looking for anything other than food so medical supplies should have been safe. My only proviso is that you’re not away for too long. Sean will be like a bear with a sore head without you!”

“Ah well, I’m planning to lead the group of fighters we take to Erebor, so I’ll be there as well. Steve and Davie are going to take charge of the defence here.” 

Sean waited for any comments but when there weren’t any he consulted his notes before continuing, “The biggest part of our discussions were around how we take on a group which numbers over a hundred with far fewer fighters and while the fighting is most likely going to be centred around Erebor as that is Bolg’s target, I didn’t want to leave Poolewe wide open when we take men away. There are a number of men in the mountain who have fantastic engineering skills so one of the ideas we are going to investigate is damming the river east of here. The increased water level will block the road which is the main route into the village. They are also looking at a way we could release the water if needed.”

“Surely that would be as dangerous for us as for any attackers?” Viggo asked.

“We spoke about that and agreed that it would be as a last resort as we couldn’t control what the outcome might be. But in a last chance scenario, it might mean that some of us would survive,” Davie responded soberly.

“They also discussed digging pits filled with spikes to use as traps for anyone trying to sneak into the village,” Orlando said. “I’m against it because I think if we’re not careful some of us could fall victim to them. I don’t want to have to try to treat someone who has impaled themselves because they didn’t look where they were going.”

“To be honest that kind of trap would only work if it was hidden anyway,” Ted added, falling silent at the glare Orlando aimed at him.

“You’ve spoken about communication, supplies and some ideas for defence, what are we going to do to take the fight to Bolg?” Steve interjected, trying to change the subject Orlando suspected.

“As I said earlier, the scouting parties will have the job of keeping tabs on Bolg’s group so that we have enough warning of their approach, but they will also have the job of making sure they follow the old A82 road as far as Drumnadrochit and don’t strike out across the moors. From Drumnadrochit, they should take the route of the A831 and we want them on the road so that we can launch a series of guerrilla attacks, using crossbows, to whittle down their numbers and even the odds against us. There’s a two mile stretch between there and Cannich where the road is narrow and has a lot of cover. We’re planning to hit them hard and fast and melt away before they can respond. I’ve said we can supply men to scout and take part in the attacks.”

“We don’t have many people with archery skills right now.” Steve mused. Sean could almost see his mind working trying to figure out how he could suddenly produce a trained group of bowmen.

“I know which is why Dean and Aidan are also going to be back here in less than a month. They’re going to teach us how to manufacture and use a small crossbow. So, if you could select at least twenty men who would be suitable for training that would be good. A side benefit could be that we will be able to hunt the deer in the hills around us for food and that will keep their numbers down somewhat.”

“The two of them are barely grown,” Ted objected.

“Aye, we ken that, but they’ve had the best training possible from Richard and Graham. Both of them were with Special Forces before the plague. The lads know their business and I’m certain they’ll be competent to do what’s needed,” Davie responded.

“Aye, I’ll maybe have a word with Agnes to keep a closer eye on young Ellie with Aidan around. Thick as thieves those two,” Ted said ominously.

“I know Ellie’s your granddaughter, Ted, but she’s eighteen and Aidan is twenty-two, if there’s something growing between them we shouldn’t stand in their way. He’s a good lad so I don’t think you have any need to worry. I suspect Dean will have had a quiet word with him about taking some time to get to know each other better before they jump into anything,” Orlando told him.

“You said it was up to the scouting parties to keep Bolg on track, so how are they planning on getting Bolg back on route if he decides to deviate from the road?” Steve brought the conversation back to topic in hand.

“Richard believes Bolg is aware that he was responsible for his father’s death and that he has managed to find out about Richard’s immediate family. If it looks as though Bolg isn’t going follow the route we want, Richard is considering a last ditch plan using Dean or Aidan as bait. As you can imagine he’s extremely reluctant to use his nephews in that way but as a last resort and a way to end the conflict he might do it if he could find a way to make sure they were kept safe.”

With that sobering thought Sean wrapped up the meeting, checking with the others that they would report back on their areas of responsibility in five days’ time.


	3. Day 4346: 5 April 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan and Dean are back in Poolewe and preparations for the coming conflict are beginning

Sean was working alongside Steve, Davie and a group of other men to prepare the ground where they were planning to erect the solar panels, due to arrive from Erebor at any time, when he was hailed. He turned to see Donald MacIntyre heading towards him on one of the hardy ponies they used for getting around. Sean closed the distance between them and as soon as he was close, Donald jumped off the pony and hurried over. “Sean, we just spotted Aidan and his brother. They’re about a mile outside the village on the old road. They’ve got a couple of other men and two wagons full of equipment with them.”

Sean wiped the sweat from his face with an old rag he had in his pocket. “Thanks, how long do you reckon before they get here?”

“About half an hour from the speed they were travelling. You want me to direct them to come straight here?” Donald indicated the flat grassy paddock beside the former Poolewe Hotel.

Sean thought quickly. “That would make the most sense as we’re going to use the old garage for storage.”

“Right you are; I’ll go and let them know and then we’ll escort them in.” Donald remounted his pony and with a wave headed back out.

Davie came over to him wiping his hands on a piece of rag. “What was that about?”

Grateful that Davie didn’t stand on ceremony and wasn’t bothered that Donald had reported to him rather than his Laird Sean said, “The men from Erebor are on their way.”

“They’re nearly here?”

“Yes, about a mile away. A patrol saw them and passed on the information.”

“I suppose that only goes to show the value of having them out there,” Davie said gesturing at the surrounding countryside. “Some of the villagers have told me that they find it reassuring to know the patrols can give us advanced warning of anyone getting close.”

Sean felt the pull in the muscles of his lower back and while he’d known Orlando had been joking when he mentioned Sean getting soft around his middle the comment had stuck in his head making him take on several more active tasks over the past month or so. He stretched his sore muscles as he spoke. “I’ll feel happier when we’ve got a reliable means of communication with Erebor. Being three days apart on horseback leaves us at a huge disadvantage,” he told Davie.

“Aye. You’re right. Well, we can hope that will be a thing of the past very soon,” Davie replied with a smile.

~~~

It was almost dark by the time the convoy arrived.

Aidan, Dean and Graham had visited before so they nodded hello to the group. They were joined by two new visitors. Sean had met both Jimmy and Bill on his visit to Erebor but he spent a few minutes introducing them to the rest of the gathering.

Once the ponies had been unhitched and taken away by some of the village youngsters to be looked after, Sean and the others pushed the carts into the garage for overnight storage.

Once all was safely under cover Sean gathered the new arrivals and said, “Look why don’t we head over to the hall and get some food? We can make the rest of the introductions there.”

With everyone’s agreement, they all headed towards the village hall. It had been one of the first things that had been organised when they moved to Poolewe and Sean was grateful that the village women had decided to set up a rota to ensure that there was always hot food available, in a communal space, for anyone who was too busy to cook for themselves. It had been a God send for Orlando and him as they spent most of their time on call for one reason or another. If they’d had to sort themselves out for food, they would have starved within the first month in their new home. Most of the village families still tended to eat together, at least at dinner time, maintaining some semblance of a traditional lifestyle.

Once everyone was seated, Sean gave Aidan a slap on the arm, “Come on and give me a hand to serve everyone.” He wasn’t surprised when Dean joined in, helping to take the full bowls over to the table. It was stew again but then it was something that could be made easily and kept warm without spoiling. It also improved with longer and slower cooking and meant that meals could have a good quantity of vegetables and use much less meat.

Once everyone was seated and had bowls of stew in front of them, Sean introduced himself, Viggo, and Steve, to the new men. 

One of them responded with a huge smile and in an Irish accent said, “Good to meet you, Sean, Orlando mentioned you a couple of times when he was with us helping Dean here.” He reached over and ruffled Dean’s hair. “I’m Jimmy and this is my cousin Bill. We’re also the ones who will rig up your solar panels and the batteries to power the radio. Graham is the radio expert – from his days in the army – so he’ll be doing the clever stuff.”

“Don’t let him undersell himself; he and Bill are skilled electronic engineers. They worked on Government contracts before the plague and were some of the best in the country,” Graham interjected. 

“Good to meet you and we’re glad to have your expertise. It will be a huge relief to be able to contact Erebor at any time.” Unconsciously, Sean ran a hand through his hair, it felt gritty from his physical labours and he knew it needed a wash. 

“Aye, I can understand that,” Graham agreed. “Aidan and Dean’s job is to start helping you put together a band of archers. They’ve got some materials but mostly they’ve got the skills to show you how to make crossbows and then how to use them. They are excellent marksmen.”

They chatted for a while longer but soon everyone was starting to yawn. One of the consequences of no longer having electricity to provide lighting was that people had adapted to rising with the sun and sleeping when it was dark. It meant that working days varied considerably in length during the year with late spring and summer days being long and the shortest days at the heart of winter being spent in a type of semi-hibernation. But Sean had found it fitted the natural pattern of their agricultural lifestyle – there was more work to be done in the summer growing months, after all.

It didn’t take long to arrange to meet up in the morning to begin work and for their visitors to be shown to places to sleep.

Together he and Orlando began the walk back to their cottage. “I need to have a bath before bed. I’m surprised you can stand the smell,” Sean said.

Orlando shrugged. “I’m usually as bad and it’s something I’ve got used to. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be able to have daily showers. It’s a huge effort to heat enough water for a bath when you’re as busy as we are all the time.”

Sean grasped Lan’s shoulder and pulled him to a stop and then turned him so that they could talk face to face. “I know we’re both on the go all the time and that things like laundry tend to get forgotten,” he pulled at his dirty t-shirt in demonstration. “Maybe we need to find someone who is willing to help us with our laundry? I’m not sure what we could offer in return though.” 

Orlando shook his head. “I don’t know, Sean, in the past ten years we’ve slipped back into a medieval pattern of living. I happen to think living conditions will get worse before they get better for everyone with lack of hygiene contributing to the spread of disease. At least we know what causes illness and don’t blame it on daft ideas like witchcraft so we should be able to avoid major outbreaks of things like typhoid and there is no doubt that having groups like the one in Erebor with vital skills will help but it is going to take a long time for the world to get back to the way it was, if it ever does.”

“You feeling okay, Lan? You’re not usually this fatalistic.” Sean put his arms around Lan’s waist and pulled him close.

Orlando shrugged. “Sorry. It’s not been a good day and I’m feeling pretty down right now.”

“Why? What’s happened?” 

“I was called out to see Flora Gillies a couple of months ago. She’d not been well for a while apparently but didn’t want to make a fuss. You know what she’s like. I examined her and everything pointed to a cancer that was too advanced for me to be able to operate to remove it.”

“Fuck!” Sean swore. “I’m so sorry, Lan. I know how hard it is for you when that happens.” He pressed his mouth to Orlando’s forehead.

Orlando’s voice was slightly muffled against Sean’s neck but he had no trouble hearing the next words, “I didn’t know what else to do so…”

“What did you do?” Sean sighed. 

“Well seeing as we don’t get sick, I wondered if giving her some of my blood as a transfusion would help.”

“You mean you already tried it?” When he didn’t answer, Sean shook him gently and said, “Lan?”

“Yes, I tried. I’ve given her two transfusions with me as the donor over the past four weeks. She was really sick so it was a last resort.”

“What? But how did you get around the compatibility issue?”

“It’s possible to check if blood types are compatible using a simple test. We’ve still got some of the reagents needed and the test was one of the first things I learned in my training. Anyway I’m type O so it’s pretty safe for me to give blood to anyone.” 

“Fuck being safe for the recipient. What about you? No wonder you’re exhausted.”

“I’m okay, Sean. I would have made up the plasma in hours and the platelets in a few days. It’s just the red blood cells that take a bit longer.”

Sean looked at him in fond exasperation. “Come on, idiot, let me take you home. Once there I’ll heat up some water and we can share a bath and then go to bed. It’ll be an effort but it’ll be worth it.”

“I don’t tell you enough how glad I am to have you,” Orlando spoke softly, his voice still muffled.

Turning and taking Orlando’s hand so they could continue walking Sean said, “Well the feeling’s mutual, Lan, I don’t know that I could have coped with the last ten years without you either.”

With a faint smile Orlando said, “It’s nearly twelve years actually.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure of the exact date now or then to be honest, but it was about twelve years ago that we met. It was June two thousand and three when you tried to run me over on Vauxhall Bridge.”

“Shit! I’ve completely lost track. That’s worrying.”

“It’s okay, Sean, it’s not as though we’ve had nothing to occupy us in the interim.” As though making up his mind, Orlando pulled him along a bit faster towards their home. When they entered the cottage together, they were both determined to forget about the world outside for at least a few hours.

**Day 4354: 13 April 2015**  
The site Sean had chosen for the solar array had been perfect, so construction had begun immediately the morning following Jimmy and Bill’s arrival. Now, a just over a week later, when he got to the site, Sean was amazed to see that the workers were just cementing the final frame, which would hold the solar panels, into the ground. Three to four weeks had been allowed for the work and Jimmy had remained confident that they would make the deadline. Seeing how far they had come in such a short time, Sean’s scepticism had vanished and now he was inclined to agree with him.

Sean was amazed how Bill and Jimmy managed to work without a word being passed between them, and guessed it was down to familiarity and their in-depth understanding of the task in hand.

After some discussion, it had been decided that the radio would be assembled in the hotel to reduce the distance wire would need to be strung and also so that it was centrally located. Steve had begun teaching several of the women of the village to use the radio equipment and Morse code, and while Orlando had muttered aloud about sexist role assignment, when Sean had queried his reaction, he had been enough of a realist to understand that it made sense to have women as the radio operators thus freeing up more men to bear the brunt of the conflict as it was more than likely that brute strength was going to be a major a factor in their success. Bolg and his people were enhanced and it was beyond hope that even the strongest villager would be a match for an enhanced opponent. Even Aidan and Dean, the youngest of the enhanced people, would be quicker and stronger; and that didn’t take into account the huge advantage they would have from the years of training they would have undergone at hands of their uncle and Graham.

Leaving them to their work, Sean headed down to the road that led along the seafront to the rear of the hotel. There was another large field there which had been designated as the area for crossbow target practice. As he neared the gate he saw that there were several men there along with some of the younger women of the village. Dean was easily spotted due to his blond hair and eventually Sean saw Aidan, who was standing further away. A group of villagers were standing well behind him as he aimed his bow towards the target. From the time he was taking and the way he kept turning back to his audience, Sean guessed he was giving them instructions.

Sean reached Dean, who gave him a welcoming smile. “Hey, Dean, how’s it going?”

“Good, I think. We’ve got the basic design for the crossbows set up and Rob, the carpenter, and his brother are starting to produce the parts for assembly. By the time we leave, you should have close on thirty crossbows and the bolts to go with them ready for use. 

“We had our weapons with us so Aidan and I decided to start the lessons now and give people longer to become competent.” 

“I didn’t realise that you were going to train some of the women.”

“Some of them asked if they could join in and it seemed like a good idea. Lan thought so too; he said that in the unlikely event that the Orcs –” 

“Orcs?”

Dean nodded and explained somewhat reluctantly, “Orcs come from Tolkien’s stories.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. I’ve not read any of them,” Sean responded.

“Yeah well, they are mentioned a lot and sometimes called goblins as well. There were several different types but generally the armies of the bad guys were made up of Orcs. Tolkien said they were bred for war and since Uncle started calling the leader of the group Bolg, Aidan and I have called the others Orcs. It made sense.”

Sean nodded, and carefully hid his smile. “I can see that.”

“Anyway, we figured that if the Orcs got close to Poolewe it would make sense to have as many as possible capable of defending their homes.”

Sean nodded again, he’d been too wrapped up in thinking of taking the fight to Bolg. There was a chance, but hopefully only a slim one, that some of the enemy would reach the village and having more skilled defenders would be an asset. 

“Yeah, it’s a good idea.”

He heard the sound of clapping and looked over to where Aidan had clearly hit dead centre of the target in his demonstration.

“He’s showing off,” Dean said with a laugh.

Now was probably as good a time as any Sean thought, to mention the awkward problem of Ellie McPhee. “Right. Dean, about that.”

Dean turned and looked at him curiously. “You mean Aidan being a show off?”

“Yes,” Sean shifted awkwardly and wasn’t sure how to begin. “I’ve noticed that Aidan and Ellie McPhee seem to spend a lot of time together and it’s just that I don’t want anything to happen that will cause problems between her family and yours,” he got out in a rush.

“Has someone said something to you about it?” Dean’s expression gave nothing away.

Sean hesitated but finally, he said, “Yes, Ted, Ellie’s grandfather, is still insisting that she’s too young to get involved with anyone.”

Dean was silent for a moment and then he said, “You don’t need to worry, we’ve talked about her and how much he likes her. Aidan’s not going to take advantage of her. He really cares about her and he says the feeling is returned.”

“It’s difficult, Orlando and I have tried to get Ted and the rest of the older people to see that the world is different now and, to put it bluntly, we need youngsters pairing up and producing children if we are going to survive long term.” Sean sighed, still worried about his lover. “Of course, Lan’s not a trained surgeon or obstetrician. Fuck it; he hadn’t even finished his medical training when it all went to hell. He’s been driven to distraction trying to get everyone to see that it makes sense to reproduce early, that it is easier and safer for the woman. We’ve lost two women who were having their first child in their forties since the plague. Each and every death that he thinks should have been avoided hits him hard.” Sean stopped and realised quickly that he had been venting at Dean. “Sorry, I’m ranting at you again but you can see it’s a sore subject.”

“Yeah, and I completely understand where you’re coming from. In Erebor the situation is worse, there are only two women living with us, Stephen’s wife and my cousin John’s mother. Without being rude, neither of them are really the right age to think about having more children but we desperately need them so that the skills we have in Erebor aren’t lost. Maybe we’re luckier because it appears that those of us who are enhanced seem to have a longer life span – at least it seems that we don’t age as fast.”

“Yeah, we’d noticed that. Vig tried to do some tests and the best he could come up with was that because of our changed metabolism, our cells repair themselves faster and age much slower.”

“Maybe that’s one of the reasons Ted is worried about Aidan – he’s twenty-two but I know he doesn’t really look it.” Dean gave Sean a wry smile. “He doesn’t always act it either.”

“I would have thought that Ted would see that if Aidan’s old enough to fight for us then he’s old enough to know his own mind.”

“True but there is also the fact that before he came here, he hadn’t seen a girl near his own age since the plague happened. Of course, there’s the added issue that Ellie isn’t enhanced so Aidan’s going to age a lot slower than her. It might be a good thing that he’s starting that bit older.”

Realising that Dean was now playing Devil’s advocate for him which showed a great deal of maturity, Sean said, “Thanks for listening, Dean, I appreciate it.”

Giving a grin that transformed him back to a much younger person Dean shrugged. “He’s my little brother, in age if not in height. I’ve looked out for him for a long time now and can’t see that changing any time soon.”

“Let’s go and see what he’s up to, shall we?” Clapping Dean on the shoulder, Sean began walking over to where Aidan was now standing behind Jamie Galbraith, correcting his grip on the crossbow.


	4. Day 4381: 10 May 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The radio installation is finished, Sean is worried that Orlando is working too hard and time passes and the battle grows nearer.

**Day 4381: 10 May 2015**  
The final preparations had been completed and Sean, Orlando, Viggo, Steve and Davie were waiting in the lounge of the hotel as Graham made a few last minute adjustments to the radio. 

“Okay, time to give it a go. Rich was going to have someone listening out for a transmission from us around now. Remember the equipment is very basic to make it as simple and power efficient as possible.” Taking a deep breath, Graham pushed the send button on the microphone and said, “Poolewe to Erebor, are you reading me, over?”

There was silence for a few minutes before he repeated the words. With a sudden crackle of static, Richard’s voice came from the loudspeaker. “Erebor here, receiving you loud and clear. Good work, guys.”

Whoops of joy could be heard at the other end as well as those in the room. Sean grabbed Orlando and hugged him. “At fucking last. It actually feels like things are going our way and we might have a chance now.”

 **Day 4383: 12 May 2015**  
It was early in the morning when Sean, Orlando and the rest of the Poolewe council stood waiting while Jimmy and Bill made their final adjustments to the way the food supplies were stored in the carts, then with minimal fuss, they got into their driving seats and with Graham and Dean in the lead, the small convey headed out on their way back to Erebor. A number of the villagers were going with them to help guard the food supplies and also to become familiar with the route to Erebor. He and Orlando had already said their goodbyes but even so Aidan lingered at the end of the line, turning frequently to look back at Ellie McPhee who was standing a bit further up the road. Eventually, with a final wave, he faced front and urged his pony on to catch up with the others.

Sean was amazed when Ted MacKinnon said, “He’s a good lad at heart.”

“What? Who?”

“Young Aidan, he’s a good lad.”

Feeling somewhat gobsmacked, Sean said, “What changed your mind? A month ago you sounded as though you would have taken a pitchfork to him if he even looked at Ellie for too long.”

“Ah well, I’ve got to know him better over the last few weeks and he’s got a solid head on his shoulders and more to the point he’s a survivor. He’ll be there to look after her when I’m long gone.”

“What’s the matter? You feeling your age then, Ted?” Sean joked.

“Aye. I’m sixty-eight, Sean, and know I’ve been very lucky to get this far. Not that I’m complaining mind.” 

Sean watched Ted walk away remembering then that Ted’s son-in-law, Ellie and Danny’s father, hadn’t survived the plague, being stuck in Glasgow when it struck, leaving Ted as the main provider for his extended family which perhaps went some way to explaining his words and actions. 

“Well, that was something I wouldn’t have expected,” Orlando said when he got close enough to Sean to speak quietly.

“You heard what he said?”

“Yep, enhanced hearing like yours, remember?” 

Wrapping his arm over Orlando’s shoulder and pulling him in closer Sean nodded. “I remember. So what have you got on today?”

“Not a thing. I’m not sure why but I’m not going to question it. How about you?”

Sean shook his head. “Nothing that can’t wait. Why?”

“I wondered if there was a chance we could get a few hours off together? We could go for a walk, take a picnic lunch down to the beach or something?”

Looking into his lover’s eyes and seeing just how tired he was despite trying to hide it. Sean nodded, “I’ll make it happen.”

 **Day 4416: 14 June 2015**  
Sean pressed the button on the microphone and spoke, “Erebor to Poolewe, are you receiving me, over?”

When no response was forthcoming he tried again, “Erebor to Poolewe, are you receiving me, over?”

Finally, after some static noises, Sean heard, “Poolewe to Erebor, reading you loud and clear. Is that you, Sean?”

“Yes, it’s me. Is that you, Steve?” 

Despite his protests, Steve had been left behind in Poolewe while Sean led the group to Erebor. Sean’s rationalisation had been that in the event that anything happened to him, Steve was the only other enhanced person in Poolewe who had serious military experience. While Sean didn’t consider himself to be indestructible, he had the skills needed to take care of himself and was pretty sure that if he wasn’t around any longer, then it was quite likely that Erebor would have been captured and that anyone with any skills which might have been of use to Poolewe, like Richard and Graham, would also be dead.

“Yes, it’s me. Viggo and Davie are here too and you’re on loudspeaker so they will hear whatever you say. You made good time getting there.”

“The weather held and because the days were so much longer we kept going as long as the ponies were happy.”

“Any sign of Bolg?”

Sean checked the map Richard had given him earlier that morning before responding. “We didn’t see anything on our trip but Richard’s had scouts out keeping tabs on them. They’re moving slowly and are north of Fort Augustus but not yet as far up the A82 as Drumnadrochit. The scouting teams are being rotated every five or six days to keep them fresh.”

“Okay, at least we have a good idea of where they are, no chance of nasty surprises that way,” Steve retorted.

“We’re keeping watch to make sure we know if they split their forces. Bolg isn’t stupid and with the superior number of fighters he has, it’s something he must have considered.” Sean hadn’t shared that particular possibility with Orlando. “But I’m not sure it’s likely, everything I’ve learnt about Bolg makes me think that he is totally single-minded about proving his superiority over the inhabitants of Erebor convincingly. He wants to crush us.”

“Aye, well, the alternative is that he could think of setting a diversion to draw you in.”

“Yes he could. At the moment we’re keeping an eye on them and will only go in if they do something that will make our own plans useless. We’re working on various scenarios but there are still so many possibilities of how this could go down it’s not possible to plan comprehensively for all eventualities.”

“Aye, that’s always the worst part,” Steve agreed. “You can spent ages making plans and they all go to hell because the enemy decides to use a different route.” 

Sean continued, “We’re going to wait until Bolg’s people reach Fasnakyle before we begin our attacks. That way we are can be sure of their route. The road there is narrow with the river on one side and forest on the other. It’s also only about fifteen miles from Erebor so our supply lines won’t be ridiculously long and, if anyone is hurt, it will only take half an hour to get them to help on horseback.” What Sean didn’t say, but was sure Steve would pick up, was that if anyone was too badly hurt to stay on a horse for the time it took to get back to Erebor, their chances of survival were slim to non-existent anyway.

“Alongside the first loch, the land shelves steeply down to the road and then down to the loch. We’ll have a considerable height advantage and unless they can jump up nearly twenty feet, they won’t be able to reach us without climbing which will make them sitting targets.”

“It’s a sound tradition to use the lay of the land to your advantage. I’m a bit concerned that you are letting them get so close. But I know the region and the area before Fasnakyle is more open and difficult to defend, with lots of older houses that they can use for cover.”

“Yeah, we’ve scouted around there and it seemed like the best plan. We’re still working on putting in some traps to help even the odds as well.”

“How long until you engage them?”

Sean did some quick calculations, “At the speed they are moving I reckon it could be another about six weeks before they are close enough. The men could have stayed at home for another month or more.”

“No point in worrying about that now, Sean. Are the small radios going to be ready in time?”

“We don’t think so, there’s a problem with getting the battery to hold enough charge to make it worthwhile carrying them around but Jimmy’s still trying to work his magic on them. If he manages it, I can’t tell you how good it will be to have radio contact with the scouting parties. Waiting for them to come back is stressful.”

Deciding it might be a good idea to change the subject, after all there was nothing more he could tell Steve at the moment, Sean asked, “How’s it going there?”

“Fine, nothing out of the ordinary to report. We’ve continuing to harvest what we can and are laying in stocks of dried fish. Otherwise it’s business as usual here.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Is Orlando with you?”

It seemed an odd question so Sean was a little hesitant when he replied, “Not at the moment, he’s setting up the medical facilities here and training Adam and Stephen to do triage work and more basic treatment. We’re both hoping that no one will get hurt but I know that’s wishful thinking.”

“Aye well, I’ll leave you to judge when to tell him but Flora passed away this morning. It was peaceful and her family were with her.”

Sean’s heart sank; no matter how he broke the news it would upset Orlando. He took it personally every time he was unable to save someone. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll pass on the news a bit later.”

“Okay. Well if there’s nothing more at the moment we should end this call. Everything is fine here so you don’t need to worry about us, just take care of our lads, yourself and Orlando.”

“Thanks, Steve. This is Erebor over and out.”

~~~

It was after dinner when Sean managed to catch up with Orlando. They’d both been occupied and eaten separately. When Sean made it back to their room after a quick wash, Orlando was already sitting in bed. The oil lamp beside the bed gave enough illumination for Sean to see that he was reading what looked like a large medical text book.

“Sorry I’m late. Graham and Richard got carried away with looking at the type of traps we could make.”

Orlando yawned and put the book down on the bedside table before answering. “That’s okay. I’ve not been here long.”

Stripping off his clothes, Sean crawled into bed beside Orlando, punching his pillow a couple of times to get it into the right shape. Immediately Orlando turned out the lamp and sank down next to him. Turning so that his back was towards Sean, Orlando scooted back so that Sean was spooning him.

“You okay?” Sean asked. Not that it was unusual for Orlando to initiate physical contact – even if it didn’t go any further than cuddling.

“Yeah, I’m just enjoying the opportunity to spend some time together before you head off with the scouting teams.”

Wrapping an arm around Orlando’s waist, Sean realised that his lover seemed thinner. He blurted out without thinking, “Are you losing weight?”

With a sigh Orlando admitted, “I think so, my clothes seem to be a bit looser at the moment.”

A wave of fear swept over Sean and unconsciously his arm tightened around Orlando. His mind began racing, having lived with Orlando for so long one of the things he had learnt was that losing weight, if you weren’t trying, wasn’t a good sign. It could be a symptom of so many things. Putting it together with Orlando’s constant tiredness recently, Sean was consumed with worry, even if Orlando had claimed that their altered blood made it difficult for them to catch more serious illnesses.

“Is there anything wrong?” Sean spoke the words against the back of Orlando’s neck, keeping his voice soft.

As if sensing his worry, Orlando rolled over so that they were facing each other. Not that they could see each other’s features with the room being so dark now that the lamp was out. “I’m not sick, Sean, honestly. I’ve just been too busy getting everything ready so that I sometimes forget to eat. There’s so much I still need to do and while Adam and Stephen are willing to help and learn, there isn’t the time to teach them much more than the basics.”

“That’s the main reason you need to take care of yourself. You’re the only doctor here, so the majority of the care of any wounded will fall to you. You won’t be any help to anyone if you’re exhausted before the fighting starts.”

“I know. Everything you’re saying makes perfect sense,” Orlando responded. 

Sean took a breath to answer but Orlando put his hand over Sean’s mouth muffling any words. “No, please let me finish, then I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

Pushing Sean over onto his back, Orlando rolled until he was lying alongside him, with his head on Sean’s shoulder. Moving his arm so that it wrapped around Orlando and held him close, Sean waited.

When he finally spoke again his voice was slightly muffled. “Getting ready to take care of the wounded is making me face up to the prospect that there is going to be fighting and that I might lose you. The idea it might happen terrifies me.”

Sean waited for him to continue.

“Over the time we’ve been together we’ve got through the worst times imaginable and I know enough psychiatry to understand that we’ve grown dependent on each other; but surely that’s what it means to love someone? You want that person around all the time. If I even contemplate what my life would be like without you I’m not sure I would be able to keep on going.”

They rarely talked about their feelings and it suddenly struck Sean that perhaps now was the right time to do just that. Orlando had made a start and revealed a lot so it was only right that he should be equally open. 

“I love you, Lan, I know I say the words a lot but I mean it. You’re the biggest and best part of who I am. I’ve had to face up to losing you once before and it left me feeling empty; I didn’t even know who I was any longer. I don’t know what I would have done if you had died back then. I don’t think I would have survived either.”

“I didn’t die but I’m not the one going into danger now,” Orlando replied.

“I know that and I’m not trying to belittle your fears but you have to remember that I have a lot of experience and survived all the missions I went on.”

Orlando sighed. “I know but you told me that you didn’t come back completely unscathed. You were walking with difficulty until you were changed by the plague.”

Sean nodded, knowing Orlando would pick up the movement. “I know, so we both have to accept that we survived incidents which could have killed us and that we are still here together. I promise you, Lan, that I will do my utmost to come back from every scouting trip so that I can always be there for you.”

“I know you will, Sean, and I’m not trying to undermine you or make you second guess yourself when you are out there with the scouts.”

Sean pulled Orlando closer and put both arms around him. “We’ve done a lot of planning to minimise the risks and are not looking to meet the Orcs in a pitched battle if we can avoid it.”

“I know.” Orlando breathed the words into his neck and the sensation made Sean shudder pleasantly.

In the dark his other senses were magnified, touch, hearing and smell became much more important along with taste. Deciding that they needed to take their minds off the forthcoming conflict, Sean began running his hand up and down his lover’s spine. As his fingers traced over the bumps of Orlando’s vertebrae Sean found the scar left by Derek MacQuillan’s bullet, the one he had brought up earlier, which had so nearly taken Orlando from him. Those few, terrible days were indelibly imprinted on Sean’s memory. Making the decision to release Orlando from the pain of his wounds with an overdose of morphine had been the hardest thing he’d ever done and had fortunately worked out for the best.

“Meeting you changed my life. Even if I did nearly run you over.” Sean lifted his head and, after bumping noses because neither of them could see, he brought their lips together in a soft kiss.

Orlando whispered, “Mine too.” He pulled back a fraction before joining their mouths together once more. 

When Orlando’s tongue sought entrance to his mouth, Sean granted it gladly, giving up any thought of controlling their activities. In a very short time he could feel Orlando’s fully erect cock pressing into his hip so Sean moved his hands to cup his buttocks, pulling him closer and allowing him to rub against his hip and leg.

“Damn it, Sean, it feels so good to be with you like this.”

“How about we make it better?” Sean murmured with his mouth against the side of Orlando’s face, the stubble there tickling slightly. 

“What do you have in mind?” 

“You under me. I won’t be able to see you but I will feel you, taste you and hear you.” Sean could feel Orlando’s heart rate increase in response to his increasing arousal.

“I could turn the lamp back on if you wanted,” he said breathlessly.

“No.” Sean shook his head slightly before realising it wouldn’t be seen. “I just want to feel you around me and your skin against mine.”

Orlando rolled and pulled Sean over with him, at the same time looping his arms around Sean’s neck. “Like this?”

“Yes.”

It was only after when Orlando was sleeping, warm and sated in his arms, that Sean remembered he’d forgotten to tell him about Flora but he wasn’t going to spoil their mood now, there would be time enough in the morning to pass on that information.


	5. Day 4420: 18 June 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle lines are being drawn as Bolg's group get closer to Erebor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, I've had family staying for several weeks and made a trip to Italy and also Devon, so it's been a little hectic!

Waiting outside Erebor, Orlando watched while Sean finished his preparations; tying his gear onto the back of his pony and then checking the girth to make sure it was tight. By the time Sean was finished, Orlando felt his stomach roiling with tension. Moving around to the other side of the pony to give themselves some semblance of privacy Orlando said, “You’ll remember you promised to be careful, won’t you?”

“Of course, Lan.” Sean smiled at him.

“Good because I don’t want to have to operate on you. You need to come back to me, whole and healthy.” Orlando took a handful of Sean’s sweater and shook him slightly.

“I’ll try my best.” Sean nodded.

“Just so you know, if you don’t, I’ll follow you to Hell just to kick your arse.”

“It’s okay, Lan. Just concentrate on what you have to do here and I’ll be back before you know it, we’re only supposed to be away for around a week. We don’t expect to make contact this soon, we’re just checking to make sure Bolg is still on the timescale we’re expecting.”

Over nearer to the gates Aidan and Dean were also getting ready to go out with Sean. Richard was standing close to them talking, his expression serious. The lads were both nodding almost constantly at whatever he was telling them.

Orlando tilted his head in their direction. “Looks like I’m not the only one worried.”

Sean nodded. “All the training in the world can’t prepare you for the moment when you have to make the decision to take a life and, while Richard and Graham will have made sure the pair of them are as ready as possible, that’s not something you can or want to teach.”

Orlando looked around. “Speaking of Graham, why isn’t he going out with you?” 

“He’s leading the next group. The few of us with military experience are leading the groups.”

Pulling Sean into a tight hug, Orlando held on for a few moments, reminding himself how Sean felt against him. They’d said their real goodbyes in private last night and he’d miss Sean while he was away with the scouting party but he had faith in Sean and his abilities, and knew he would be back safe as soon as possible.

“Sean?” They both spun around to see Richard standing there.

Keeping his voice low Richard continued, “I know it’s probably not fair to ask but I wondered if you could try to keep an eye on them for me? Graham and I have trained them well but you know what it’s like out there.”

“Of course. We’re both fond of the lads and wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.” Sean indicated Orlando, including him in the statement.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Then, before he was really ready to say goodbye, Sean and the others were mounting up and the ponies were trotting away from the gates.

Orlando waited with Richard until they were almost out of sight and everyone else had re-entered the mountain.

“Come on, let’s go and get a cup of what now passes for coffee.”

Wanting to be alone because he suspected he wasn’t going to be good company, Orlando shook his head. “I’d rather not, I’ve got things to do.”

“They’ll keep,” Richard insisted.

Giving in gracefully, Orlando agreed. “Okay. But I think I’ll stick to the tea. I can handle using raspberry leaves instead of real tea but it just seems wrong to roast acorns and use them to make coffee.”

He followed Richard back into the mountain and down the tunnel to the cafeteria. Once they had their drinks, Richard said, “I always associate raspberries with my mother.”

Not sure where Richard was heading with his comment Orlando waited for him to continue.

“It was one of the things she took with her when she and my father moved away from Scotland. Every autumn she would make jam – enough to keep us going until the following year. It’s lucky that Scotland is so favourable for raspberries, at least we can get enough leaves to keep us all in tea.”

A light clicked on in Orlando’s head. “Ah, yes, I wondered about that. You, Dean and Aidan all have Midlands’s accents while most of your cousins have Scottish ones.”

Richard took a breath before speaking, “Well yes, my parents had a falling out with my grandfather and left the area, so he disinherited my dad.”

“Oh, that’s not good.”

“They reconciled eventually, so I did get to know my grandfather a little. He was the one who founded Erebor.”

“Yes I knew that. You said he was a great fan of Tolkien’s work.”

“He was. He told me once that Professor Tolkien had been one of his tutors while he was at University. I’m not sure of the truth in that but it doesn’t really matter. He enjoyed telling the story.”

Something occurred to Orlando. “Were your parents gone before the plague? Only it seems that your family must have something in their genetic make-up that predisposes them to survive it. I don’t know of any other occurrences of so many family members all getting through it and becoming enhanced.”

Richard looked thoughtful. “I have no expertise in that area and I’m sure my information has no statistical significance, but it does seem like it might be something to do with having Scottish ancestors or blood. Take Bard’s village, Plockton, there are a number of family groups there who have survived intact.”

“Viggo would love to meet them, I’m sure. Maybe once this business with Bolg is over and done with he could visit them and do some research. Not that it is easy now without his equipment.”

“I’m sure we can arrange it. Bard is a good man and while his wife didn’t survive, his three children did – not that they are really children any longer. Between you and me, I think Dean has a bit of an attraction to his eldest daughter Sigrid. It’s still hard to look on them as young men rather than children because I have such vivid memories of when they arrived here.”

“They are a credit to you. I assume you’ve heard about Aidan and Ellie McPhee?”

Richard smiled the picture of a fond uncle and very different from his usual serious expression. “Oh yes and from a number of different sources too.”

“Her grandfather is a bit protective but he’s coming around to Aidan.”

“They’re good lads and I’m really proud of the way they’ve coped with so much.” Richard stared at his coffee mug for a moment. “I’m sorry if you feel that I am risking Sean’s safety by asking him to keep an eye out for the boys. Dean and Aidan are all I have left of my immediate family. When the plague started I told my sister to get them all to Erebor so that we could stay somewhere defensible and safe. At that stage we didn’t know about the side effects of the plague. It was the worst week of my life not knowing what was happening with them because by then mobile phones had stopped working. When they finally showed up at the gates Aidan was delirious and Dean was exhausted both physically and mentally, from having to look out for his brother. My sister sacrificed herself so that the boys could survive. Can you imagine seeing your mother killed in front of you? It took them years to stop having nightmares and in that time we grew closer. I was the only person they knew who had survived. I vowed then that I would do my best to make sure nothing happened to either of them again.”

Richard’s words brought back the pain Orlando had felt at the death of his father. Despite the years that had elapsed; it wasn’t something he could remember without a feeling of loss and failure. He hadn’t shared the story with many people but he wanted Richard to realise that he understood what he was trying to say. “My father, he was affected by the plague. He was unconscious when Sean and I reached his home but when he woke up he wasn’t the man I had known and loved. I had to do something for him and with Sean’s support I was able to do what was needed. It’s not something I will ever remember without feelings of regret. I’m a doctor, I should have been able to do something other than put him down like you would a dog.”

Richard reached out to grip his shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure you’re being too hard on yourself. You saved him from a lot of pain and suffering and I’m sure you did what needed to be done out of love.”

“I know and it’s been many years since then. Most of the time I can rationalise my actions but there are still occasions when I feel that I failed him…”

~~~~

**Day 4454: 22 July 2015**  
Orlando climbed up the roughly carved stairs and along the corridor to the radio room. He rolled his shoulders as he walked trying to release the tension that had gathered there over the past few hours. Sean had left with the main army the day before and he was worrying. The past few weeks had been hectic with lots of preparation but now the waiting for something to happen was beginning to wear him down. The expression the calm before the storm was absolutely correct and Orlando hated it.

When he reached the radio room, which was located at almost the highest point in the mountain, to allow for access to the antenna for the radio and power from the solar panels, Jimmy was sitting in an armchair pushed over to the side of the room. He was reading by the light coming in through the skylight. Apart from the armchair, the desk holding the radio equipment and a couple of desk chairs the room had no other furniture.

“Hello, Lan, everything okay?” Jimmy looked up at them.

“Everything’s fine. I’m just making the regular contact with Poolewe to check they’re all okay while Sean is away.”

“They’ve not been in touch with us so that’s a good sign.” Jimmy nodded before standing and stretching.

“Yeah, I hope so. You can go and take a break if you want, Jimmy, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine here and I’ll wait until you get back before leaving just in case there are any messages,” Orlando assured him.

With only three working radios that they knew of, in Erebor, in Poolewe and the other in Plockton with Bard, Orlando was slightly sceptical of the need to keep a radio watch but it had been explained that somehow other survivors in other parts of the country or world might get in contact now that Erebor had begun sending out messages so that it was vital that someone was there to respond. He didn’t know about the radio in Plockton but Poolewe had agreed and set up a rota.

He sat down in front of the radio and, after checking the batteries pressed the send button on the microphone.

“Erebor to Poolewe, are you receiving me, over?”

There was no response so a few moments later he tried again. Eventually a female voice responded. “Is that you, Dr Lan?”

“Yes, is that you Ellie? Are Davie or Steve around?”

“Aye, they’re just along in the village, I’ll get Danny to fetch them. It’ll only take a minute.”

“Thanks, Ellie.”

He waited in silence for a few minutes until Steve’s voice came over the radio. 

“Lan, we’re here. Is there anything wrong?” Steve sounded a little out of breath.

“Wrong? No.” It took a few moments for him to realise that having him make the call was what had worried Steve. “Sorry, Steve, there’s nothing wrong but Sean’s away and we didn’t want to worry you by not checking in. Seems I’ve worried you anyway.”

“No harm done, I was just a bit concerned when Ellie told me it was you instead of Sean but as long as everything is fine.”

“It is.” Orlando grabbed the piece of paper which he’d used to make his notes. “I’ve got an update for you.” 

“Go ahead, Davie’s here with me.”

“The Orcs are at Cannich which means they have left the main road and are now coming along the glen making them about fifteen miles away. They’re not moving much more than three or four miles a day and on some days they don’t move at all,” Orlando reported.

“Why’s that? Do you know?” Steve asked.

“As far as the scouts can tell, without getting too close, it seems that they are hunting deer and fishing. They then spend time drying the fish and meat so the consensus seems to be that they are working on stockpiling food.”

“That’s a lot more organised than we had anticipated,” Davie interjected.

“Yes, it is. It’s been giving us all sleepless nights wondering what else they might be planning. Richard, Graham and Sean decide to take the main force out a couple of days ago and are basing themselves at Fasnakyle so they can react faster. From there they’re looking at maybe sending out a few small groups to scout a wider area just in case Bolg has split his forces.”

“That makes sense. You are so short of fighting men that you really could do without any surprises.”

“They all seem pretty confident that the terrain here is going to work for us as much as anything else. Sean is training a group of the best marksmen to become a mobile reaction force who can move around quickly and help out where long range methods will work best and are most needed.”

“That’s a good idea and the best way forward under the circumstances.” Steve agreed and Orlando took some heart from the confidence in his voice. Maybe it would all work out and no one would get hurt. As much as he hoped that was the case, he was aware it had a lot to do with wishful thinking.

“How are Meg and Will coping? Is there anything I can help with?” Orlando asked.

“We’re doing fine. They’ve been seeing to any minor injuries without any problems and as it is summer there’s not been much sickness. Oh, and Caitlyn had her baby a couple of days ago, Will was there for the delivery but wasn’t really needed. Caitlyn and the bairn are both doing well.” 

Orlando smiled, he’d been pretty confident that Caitlyn would be fine, it was her third child and she had already had two uneventful deliveries. “That’s good to hear.” 

“We’ve been able to start haymaking so there’s going to be plenty of forage for the animals over the winter. We’re starting to harvest the early vegetables and Bard has sent more salted fish for our stores. We’re working together to try to find a way to speed up the process of evaporating seawater to obtain more supplies of salt because they’re running a bit low at the moment and going to the mines in Cheshire would be too difficult for the amount of salt we could possibly bring back by wagon.”

Orlando felt relieved, it seemed that the people of Poolewe were well prepared. 

Suddenly Davie spoke up, “I’ve sent her on an errand but can you tell me how young Aidan is getting on? I know Ellie is worried about him.”

“Young Aidan? Come off it Davie, he’s not a whole lot younger than you.” Orlando couldn’t help but laugh.

“Aye, but he barely looks out of his teens and don’t get me started on you and Sean. Being enhanced certainly seems to help keep you all looking a lot younger than your real ages.”

“I know but it’s less noticeable here where so many of the men are enhanced. But you can assure Ellie that Aidan is well, though maybe you don’t want to tell her that he and Dean are out with the scouting parties right now.”

“Aye, well, that seems like a good idea. We don’t want to worry the lassie,” Davie agreed.

“I was thinking of suggesting that we check in more frequently; say every morning now that things are likely to be happening so we can keep you all up to date.” 

“Aye, that sounds like a good idea. We’re feeling a bit cut off here,” Steve responded.

“Great, I’ll let Jimmy know. It probably won’t be me making the call – though I will if I can.”

“Och, that’s fine, just as long as someone can speak to us, we’ll be happy. We know that you might be a bit busy if anything happens.”

Praying Steve was wrong and he wouldn’t be needed, Orlando didn’t correct him, instead ending the call by saying, “Okay then, if there’s nothing else I’ll sign off.” 

“Aye nothing more from us, so Poolewe out.”

“Erebor out.” Orlando finished the conversation and clicked the button on the microphone into the receive position. Jimmy would probably be another ten minutes so he moved over to the armchair and picked up Jimmy’s discarded book, idly flicking through the pages hoping it would distract him for a little while and stop him worrying about Sean and the others. He could certainly relate to how those in Poolewe were feeling with little or no information.


	6. Day 4455: 23 July 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clashes with the Orcs begin

The defenders of Erebor had set up camp at Fasnakyle Power Station, two miles from Cannich, to make their final preparations when Sean was called into a meeting with Richard and Graham. Guessing he was wanted to discuss the next steps they should take, Sean headed over to the slight rise where Richard and Graham were standing. 

From their position, overlooking the square brick built buildings of the long redundant power station, Sean could hear the voices of the men as they made themselves as comfortable as possible. It had been decided that they shouldn’t light any fires to hide their numbers and location as much as possible, so the men were making do with cold food and just water to drink.

Richard’s gaze travelled over the surrounding terrain. Pointing to the fork in the road about a hundred metres away on their right he said, “If you take the left hand fork it leads to the last usable bridge over the river, further downstream the only way across is by wading through the water. The road travels up alongside the eastern bank, up to a junction with the A831 and then on to Cannich. I think we should set up the first of the ambushes at the junction there. There’s enough tree cover, the ground is raised and we can then fade back along the road toward Erebor.”

Sean nodded, they’d done their reconnaissance so the choice of location wasn’t unexpected. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

Graham looked around thoughtfully before agreeing. “Aye, we’d planned to start here and there’s nothing here I can see that makes me think about changing my mind.”

“Okay. So, Sean, could you take a group up to Cannich and have a scout around? We need to know if there is any sign that the Orcs have split up and are coming in behind us. We can’t afford to launch an attack and then find ourselves surrounded when we try to fade away.”

Sean nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll take Aidan, Dean, Dougie, Neil and Rob with me. They’re all good with a crossbow. That way, if we see anything, we can take them down to stop them raising the alarm without getting up close and personal.”

Richard looked at the sun which was still quite high in the sky despite it being late in the evening. “These longer days are a blessing because it helps the non-enhanced see more easily but a curse because it’s more difficult to move undetected.”

“I know but we’ll be fine. The lads are all well trained,” Sean tried to reassure him.

It took a little while to gather the group, get the ponies tacked up and for them to pick up supplies, but once they were ready, Sean sent them off before riding over to where Richard was standing.

“You’ll be back here by first light?” Richard queried.

Sean nodded. “Hopefully.” Sure that Richard was going to say something else Sean waited but, when nothing was forthcoming, he turned the pony full circle until he was facing Richard again. Moving closer, and leaning down so he could speak without being overheard, Sean said, “I know what you want to ask and the answer is yes. I’ll keep an eye on them for you.”

Without waiting for a response, Sean wheeled his mount back around and followed the group out along the road beside the River Glass.

It was still pleasantly warm and the colour of the sun now sinking towards the horizon made the water seem as though it was on fire. The absence of any sounds apart from the noise of the ponies’ hooves and the jingle of their tack, made it seem incredibly peaceful and if he hadn’t known they were almost certainly heading towards a battle in the coming days, Sean would have enjoyed the ride. Instead, he felt tension growing in his gut as they followed the road past the sign announcing they were entering Cannich.

Their group of six had just passed the ruins of the Slaters Arms bar on the outskirts of the village when Sean held up his hand for them to wait. Instantly, the entire group reined in their ponies. Indicating by gesture that he wanted to check something Sean dismounted and passed the reins to Aidan to hold. To disguise his actions, he began to examine the hooves of his pony, pretending that he had felt it go lame to give a reason for them stopping. They were on the outskirts of the village where houses and other buildings provided potential locations for an ambush.

Dean also dismounted and came over to stand next to Sean, pretending to also examine the pony. “What’s wrong? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Me neither but something feels off.” 

Dean looked around casually. “I can’t hear any birds. I know it’s getting late but there’re usually some about at this time of year.”

“Maybe that’s what alerted me,” Sean mused.

“How do you want to play this?” Dean asked, keeping his voice low.

Sean sensed the sudden alertness from Aidan, the only one in the group with enhanced hearing and therefore the only one who would have heard him.

To the left was the ruin of a house built up on a hill and to the right the old primary school. “Up on the hill or in the school do you think?” Sean asked, knowing Aidan would hear and taking the opportunity to get Dean to practice thinking tactically.

“I’d be waiting up on the hill using the advantage of the higher ground,” Dean stated after a moment’s thought. “Do you think they heard us coming?” he added.

Sean looked at the remains of the road; ten years of harsh winters and no maintenance had almost destroyed the surface. The tarmac was broken and pitted where grass and other greenery had grown through it and the rest of it was covered with mud and earth. “Maybe. But this is where I would have set up a watch.”

“What are we going to do?” Aidan hissed, leaning down as though he too was looking at the pony’s hoof.

“We could split up and send one half of the team up the hill and the other half into the school.” Dean suggested.

“We don’t know how many might be there. Three of us going in against any more than four or five would be a massacre,” Aidan commented.

“Yes, but if the school is empty then we’ve got the crossbows and can help the other group from a distance,” Dean responded.

Sean nodded in agreement with both of them. They were developing good instincts. He looked over the group; they were all youngsters, chosen for the outing so they would gain experience in a situation where they were unlikely to meet any opposition. Of all of them, Sean considered that Dean and Aidan were probably most likely to be able to look after themselves. Richard and Graham had spent a lot of time training both of them. “I’ve got another idea, why don’t we give the Orcs a target and draw them out.”

“How’re we going to do that?” Dean asked.

“The rest of you go on around the bend up there and leave me here. We know they usually rely on Bolg to do their thinking so, if they’re there, they’ll not realise it could be a trap and make a move.”

Dean took charge naturally and nodded. “Okay. We’ll stop as soon as we can and get into position to ambush them. If it appears to be a large group, just get out of here and we’ll do the same. We can regroup at Fasnakyle and figure out what to do next.” He gave a grim smile that reminded Sean vividly of Richard. “Just don’t make me have to go back and tell Lan that something happened to you.”

Nodding Sean turned to the rest of the group. Speaking louder than was really necessary, he said, “My pony’s got a loose shoe. You go on ahead while I fix it and I’ll catch you up.”

Fortunately, the rest of the group were quick on the uptake and moved off with Dean. Aidan passed the reins over to Sean without question and pulled the head of his pony around to follow the others. 

He called back over his shoulder, “Don’t be too long!”

Waving his arm in response, Sean went back to pretending to fiddle with the pony’s shoe, keeping his ears open for any sign of movement in the surrounding area. 

The others disappeared from view and time seemed to slow until it was barely crawling. The sound of birds resumed, building slowly and forcing Sean to focus in order to hear any sounds of movement. His concentration was rewarded as the natural sounds of the area changed again, reducing to barely a murmur. Keeping stooped over the hoof he waited. He had spotted a patch of rougher ground twenty yards away and knew that when he heard footsteps there it was time to move. Turning, Sean pulled a small crossbow out of his saddlebag, keeping it hidden with his body as he cocked it and inserted the bolt. Moments later he heard footsteps and he whirled, firing with unerring precision. The bolt ploughed into the chest of the Orc. This one only vaguely resembled a man being quadruped by shape but with limbs that were too long and appearing out of proportion with the rest of the body. The figure fell and behind it Sean saw four others shambling towards him. They were all carrying rudimentary guns but before they came close enough for any accuracy, they too collapsed. As they hit the ground, Sean saw a number of small, wicked crossbow bolts protruding from each of their backs.

The attack and its repulsion had lasted barely a minute. With silence reigning in the clearing once more Sean moved closer to his attackers seeing Dean and Aidan rise from concealment behind some bushes. With their crossbows re-loaded and ready they came towards him.

“Did we get them all?” Dean called out.

“I think so,” Sean responded, focusing on the bodies and the weapons they were carrying. This was a chance to gather some useful intelligence and it shouldn’t be wasted. 

He had reached down to pick up what looked like a rifle that had been made out of scavenged parts when Aidan yelled, “Get down!”

Without a moment of hesitation Sean dropped and Dean did the same, both of them landing on their knees. He felt the wind of a crossbow bolt pass over his head and then the sound of an impact. As he turned an Orc stumbled and fell, Aidan’s bolt embedded in its throat.

Berating himself for losing focus, Sean walked over to Aidan’s target. The Orc was still breathing, making horrible choking sounds. Drawing his knife from the sheath at his back, Sean quickly slit its throat, putting it out of its misery with little more reluctance than he would for putting down a sick animal. He didn’t miss the expressions of surprise on the faces of several of the group.

Knowing he needed to confront the issue as it was probably the first time, with the exception of Dean and possibly Aidan, the youngsters had seen violent death or taken a life themselves. At this point he didn’t know which of the lads had fired fatal shots with their crossbows, Sean gestured at the body. “We’ll talk about what I did here and why I did it when we’re somewhere safe. Right now we’ve got a job to do so collect your bolts and we’ll get moving.”

Later, when they had finished their patrol and were heading back to camp, Sean let the group gather around him. They were tired but fortunately the rest of the patrol had been uneventful and they had not discovered any further sign of Orcs along the west bank of the river.

Deciding to begin the discussion Sean asked, “Why did I kill him?”

It took a while for a response but pretty much as he had expected Dean was the first to answer. “He was dying anyway, what you did was a kindness.”

“True, but by killing him, Sean prevented information getting back to Bolg. It was unlikely with how seriously he was wounded that he would have been able to get back under his own steam but he might have lasted until someone came looking for him and he could have told them about us and our weapons.” Rob spoke softly but had obviously thought about recent events.

“They were carrying guns that were old and looked as though they had been repaired a lot which means they have the ability to fight long range too.” Aidan joined in with the conversation.

“Yes, that’s true but something else to consider is the state of their weapons. They might have guns but the ones we saw looked as though they had been repaired many times. Why was that? There were countless weapons left on military bases after the plague, so why don’t they just use new weapons?”

“Because it’s ammunition that is in short supply not guns and they are having to make their own,” Neil Macintyre suggested. 

Sean nodded, Neil was Donald’s younger brother and was much less boisterous than his brother but he was a thinker and had proved to be a valuable member of Sean’s group of marksmen. “So why is that an issue?”

“Because any ammunition the Orcs can make is going to be poor quality and therefore not particularly accurate. Using it will very quickly destroy the barrels of their guns. Prolonged use is just as likely to cause the weapon to blow up in the hands of its wielder as take out his opponent,” Dougie added. His father was a blacksmith so his comments and knowledge didn’t surprise Sean.

As the discussion continued Sean listened and was forced to re-evaluate how the youngsters were taking his actions and thinking about the situation. They seemed to have accepted the killing of the Orc as necessary and without any qualms. Perhaps, in the decade since the plague, the human race was already proving itself to be more adaptable and capable of survival than Sean had considered.  
Confident now that they could talk out anything else between themselves; Sean concentrated on getting them back to the main camp without any further incidents.

 

 **Day 4464: 1 August 2015**  
Sean lifted his arm and used his shirt sleeve to wipe away the worst of the sweat gathered on his forehead before sighting along his crossbow and waiting for the first of Bolg’s remaining fighters to arrive. Their guerrilla campaign had been going on for about six days now and so far it seemed to be working in their favour. Their own casualties had been light with only minor injuries. After treatment, either in camp or occasionally back in Erebor, everyone had been able to return to the front line. Sean was thankful it hadn’t been worse and was convinced that the amount of time they had spent planning had paid dividends for them.

Hearing the sound of something big and heavy approaching rapidly, he concentrated on the spot where the rough track came into view. Almost immediately, a group of Orcs most of them sporting wounds from previous skirmishes, burst out of the bushes and charged towards their position. Sean fired and reloaded, hearing the group of young snipers beside him doing the same. In the end it took six volleys of crossbow bolts before the attack was broken off and the Orcs retreated, leaving a number of bodies twitching in their wake.

Sean waited on alert in case there was another attack but after some time, he began to think that they might be done for a while. Looking over to his left, Sean saw Dean was lying on his back, his eyes closed and felt a brief stirring of panic but then he realised that Aidan, alongside him, did not appear to be worried and was calmly keeping watch. He guessed then that they were taking turns to get some rest. Sensing his gaze, Aidan turned, giving Sean a nod and a little wave to show that they were okay.

Sean heard footsteps behind him and turned quickly to see Dougie heading towards him.

“Sean, Graham asks if you could come back to the command post for an urgent meeting. The scouts have just come back in.”

“Right lad, are you going to stay here in my place or come back with me?”

“Graham said to wait here and help out until you come back.”

Gesturing that he was going to go back to their HQ, Sean waited until Aidan acknowledged that he would take over command of the group before moving out. Keeping low, he headed over to where he knew Graham and Richard would be meeting with the scouts.

~~~

Thirty minutes later, after a hurried conference, Sean was on his way back. He found the lads alert and watching the road from behind the barricades they’d built. Dropping down beside Dean, Sean said, “Okay we’re pulling back along the track to the head of the loch. Our scouts have reported that Bolg sent a group of thirty across the river at Fasnakyle and they are coming along the other side of the loch. Your uncle thinks they are planning to cross at the old footbridge so he’s sending out a group to destroy the bridge and wants us to cover them while they work.”

“That explains why their numbers were lower than we expected. The bastards were trying to get behind us,” Dean responded as he rose and began picking up his gear.

“Yes, but we found out soon enough to do something about it.” Sean waved to the others in his group of snipers. “Okay let’s move out, we need to get in position to cover those clearing the bridge.” 

When his group of twenty reached the northern bank, Sean saw several men from Erebor working halfway across the wooden footbridge that spanned the river. It was summer so the level in the river was low and the water moved along leisurely. Walking out as far as he could on the still intact parts of the bridge Sean judged that the river was only deep enough to be a problem to the Orcs right in the centre for a distance of about twenty metres, the rest was shallow and easily forded.

Turning around, he took in the lie of the land. About fifty metres before the bridge was an abandoned farm, the buildings now fallen into disrepair. Returning to the group Sean detailed two men to set up within the ruins of the farm. Gesturing to the rest of the group to follow him Sean went back down towards the river, placing men in the treeline and also at the top of the bank that bordered the river.

Positioning himself behind a convenient clump of foliage, so he could see while not being seen, Sean checked that everyone was hidden.

In a very short time, the engineering experts, brothers Peter and John, had supervised the removal of all but two of the main timbers making up the surface of the bridge. They were the last ones on the bridge and were now returning, paying out the rope that they would use to pull the last of the beams free and make the bridge unusable. Sean had been told that the plan was to leave the framework intact so that the bridge would be easy to rebuild when the fighting was over.

The engineers were coming across the final support when Sean saw movement on the far bank. Motioning to Peter to get a move on, Sean nudged Neil who was crouched beside him. “They’re here; alert the others but make sure they know not to give away our position until I give the signal.”

“Aye, Sean.” Neil crawled over to the next group and passed on the message before heading back. At the precise moment that Peter and John pulled the last piece of timber free and began hauling it up the bank, Sean heard gunfire. It was a sound that was at once familiar and not; he’d spent a good part of his working life around guns but, since the plague, the sound they made had faded into memory. 

Sean saw Peter and John hit the ground and begin crawling slowly across to some bushes for cover. On the other side of the river he could see a number of Orcs trying to make their way across using the bare wooden skeleton that was all that was left of the footbridge. At least while they were climbing across through they needed both hands to hang on with, which meant that they were unable to shoot at the defenders. Realising that it was going to be a bit like shooting fish in a barrel Sean took a few moments to look at the Orcs. Behind the group trying to cross the river Sean saw another slightly larger figure standing motionless watching the attempted attack and taking no direct part.

Checking that his men were ready Sean waited until the Orcs were in range and then stood and began to fire his crossbow. The other defenders joined him and it very quickly turned into a slaughter. The last Orc had fallen into the river when the sound of a bullet impacting close by and the resulting scream of pain from Dougie who was standing next to him made Sean look across the river. The Orc who had been hanging back was just lowering his rifle and Sean realised that he had probably been the target. Turning back to Dougie, Sean saw that Neil had dropped his crossbow and was putting pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Dougie was pale but he was conscious and Sean was pleased to see that the wound didn’t appear life threatening, though with the necessary corollary that in the face of the absence of any usable antibiotics, if infection set in, any injury could be deadly especially in someone who was not enhanced.

Looking back across the river, Sean watched as the Orc calmly shouldered the rifle and began to walk away. Calling out to Aidan, who he knew was their best marksman, Sean said, “Can you take him down from here?”

“I can try but the distance is likely to be too much. If I had my longbow it’d be a different story.”

“Give it a go.”

Aidan nodded and dropped down onto his belly. Using the bank in front of them as a rest for his crossbow. Sighting carefully he fired. The bolt travelled true and caught the Orc in the middle of his back. He staggered but didn’t go down. Straightening up he ignored them and continued to walk away. Hoping that the wound would fester, Sean turned his attention back to his group of fighters.

A short time later, Sean made his way to the river bank. Dean and Aidan joined him and together they watched as the remaining bodies of the Orcs were picked up by the current and moved downstream. 

“How many more of them do you think there are?” Dean said wearily.

“I’m not sure but I’m hoping not too many,” Sean responded. “I don’t know about you youngsters but I’m knackered.”

Aidan stretched before responding. “Age doesn’t come into it, Sean, we’re all tired. Maybe we just hide it better.” He grinned with the last words.

“You’re probably right.” Sean nodded. “Come on, let’s go and find some food and maybe get a few hours’ sleep.”

Together they headed up the bank and back to the main camp.


	7. Day 4467: 4 August 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle for Erebor begins

Needing a breath of air Orlando left the infirmary and walked out to the main gate where he stood and looked out at the surrounding countryside. The sky was overcast giving the loch a dull grey appearance. The surface was choppy with small white tipped wavelets running across it. It had been deathly quiet inside the mountain in the weeks since the main group of fighters had departed, apart from short, sharp moments of frantic activity when the occasional wounded man arrived. Fortunately, none had been injured seriously and all but two of the most recent arrivals had returned rapidly to the front line. 

A message from Sean had arrived earlier in the day, warning him that Bolg and the remaining Orcs were now less than a mile from the start of the track that led up to the entrance of Erebor and that casualties were likely. From his vantage point Orlando couldn’t see any signs of battle. The wind was coming from behind him so no sounds of fighting were carrying towards him either. All he could do was wait and try not to let his imagination run amok.

~~~

Sean gathered his sniper group together and pointed out the locations he wanted them to cover, waiting to move himself until they had all taken their places. They were all exhausted, having spent the past forty-eight hours on constant alert but at least now there was an end in sight. Bolg could only have a handful of fighters left and most of those had to be wounded. It had been a hard fought campaign and Sean knew the defenders had been fortunate to avoid any major injuries to this point. Logic told him that their luck wasn’t going to last and that he should expect to see some serious casualties in the next few hours. He’d long known the truth of the old adage that a cornered and defeated enemy had nothing left to lose. He’d done all he could to prepare Orlando for the possibility of incoming wounded with the message he’d sent earlier.

Finally, happy that his group were all in cover, he made his way over to a large boulder situated a few feet past the opening to the track that climbed away to his left and up the hill towards Erebor. There was a deep, fast flowing stream at his back carrying a huge amount of water down towards the loch. The noise of it crashing over stones and off ledges made it difficult for him to hear anything out of the ordinary. Making the conscious decision to rely on his eyesight, he focused on the track that led alongside the loch and settled down to wait.

~~~

**Two hours later**  
Orlando lifted the pad he was using to staunch the bleeding on Ralph’s arm and was pleased to see that the flow was almost stopped and that he would be able to bandage it for now and perhaps put in a few stitches later. The most important thing was to keep things moving and get the wounded through the infirmary and, where necessary, into the makeshift ward they had created further down the corridor to ensure that they still had the space to treat incoming casualties.

Fortunately, none of the injuries he had so far been presented with were serious, and he had been able to leave Adam and Stephen to cope with the majority of them.

He’d questioned everyone who had come in, asking if they knew of any life threatening injuries amongst the defenders where they couldn’t be moved without serious risk but was relieved that so far the responses had been negative. Orlando hadn’t let on to Sean but he had already made the decision that if anyone was so badly hurt they couldn’t be brought to Erebor, then he would go to them. He had even packed a bag with everything he thought he might need in such an eventuality so that he could leave at a moment’s notice.

At the back of his mind though, was a building feeling of concern about Sean. Orlando knew he would be in the thick of the fighting because he was fully aware that his lover wouldn’t ask anyone to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.

~~~

**Three hours later**  
Sean wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand as he moved forward with the remainder of his group. They had been fighting solidly for nearly six hours now, slowly and surely whittling away at the number of Orcs left standing against them. The main hand to hand fighting group had lost almost a third of their number to injury, so Sean’s group had been depleted with Dean, Aidan and Rob being called away to reinforce them.

They were now only yards from the edge of the loch, the small scrubby trees that grew on the bank making it impossible to see clearly just how many Orcs were left. 

Taking a moment to gather his bearings, Sean stepped up onto a small rise and looked around trying to locate Bolg. He knew the Orc leader was still alive, as he had heard him bellowing at his fighters, urging them back into the battle, only a few moments before.

Sean finally spotted the huge Orc off to one side, his pale skin the only thing that stopped him being completely hidden amongst the trees. Scanning the Erebor fighters, Sean saw Richard, closely flanked by Dean and Aidan, leading an advance against the remaining attackers. 

The group grew rapidly as more men joined the charge but Richard and his nephews remained some distance ahead. Sean was about to join them when he saw Bolg produce an RPG launcher, lift it to rest against his shoulder and, with the three Durin men now squarely in his line of fire, aim it at the attacking group.

Knowing he was too far away to do anything Sean never the less shouted, “Richard! Incoming!” as loudly as he could. But, there was too much noise and despite their enhanced hearing, none of them seemed to have heard him. 

In desperation, Sean acted, throwing himself onto his stomach and lifting his crossbow. Knowing he was only going to get one chance, he sighted carefully. Using all his experience and enhanced senses he focused on the grenade, waiting until it had left the barrel of the launcher. His only hope was to hit the grenade will the crossbow bolt and either throw it off course or cause it to explode prematurely. 

Offering a swift prayer for his accuracy, Sean fired and watched as events played out in slow motion.

It soon became clear that Richard must in fact have heard him, because at the instant the bolt left Sean’s crossbow Richard acted. Taking only a fraction of a second to assess the situation, he continued his turning movement and, without a moment’s hesitation, he gathered the lads to him. Once he had hold of them, he dropped to the ground, pushing them down first and falling over them to protect them with his body. 

Some way behind them, Graham’s expression of horror showed that he had also realised what was going on, but had not been close enough to do anything.

Sean’s bolt flew true, hitting the grenade in mid-air. The old, unstable explosive detonated immediately, showering the area in shrapnel. Self-preservation took over and Sean dropped his head and covered it with his hands, attempting to avoid the hot, sharp metal now flying through the air.

The rain of debris had barely stopped before Sean leapt up and began running towards where he had last seen Richard. He could hear Graham shouting for help up ahead and the note of panic in his voice told Sean the situation was serious.

When Sean reached the area, he found Graham kneeling beside the huddled bodies of Richard and the lads. Dean was almost completely hidden from view beneath Richard’s inert form, while the only part of Aidan visible was his face, one shoulder and an arm. They were all unconscious but Sean could just make out the faint rise and fall of Aidan’s chest. 

“Where’s Bolg?” Sean looked over to Graham who was checking on Richard and Dean.

He didn’t answer, only gestured with a tilt of his head. Sean followed his signal and saw the pale Orc lying on the ground some distance away. The explosion that had injured Richard and his nephews had also ripped into the Orc leaving him bleeding from numerous wounds. 

Walking over to Bolg, Sean loaded his crossbow again and, without a shred of remorse, aimed and fired.

By the time he got back to Richard and the lads, others had rallied round with stretchers and soon the three were being loaded carefully onto them.

~~~

Orlando was nearly bowled over when Jimmy came charging through the door of the infirmary, breathing heavily indicating that he had run all the way from the entrance. Taking barely a couple of seconds to catch his breath he blurted out, “Dougie’s just ridden in as though the Devil himself was behind him. He said the fighting’s all over but they’re bringing Richard, Dean and Aidan in and Dougie said it was serious.”

Orlando’s thoughts whirled around in his head as he made the decision to go to the gate rather than waiting for the casualties to be brought inside. If Richard and his nephews were hurt then Sean had to have been close by. The sooner he was there the sooner he’d know if Sean was okay. The only positive point was that Jimmy hadn’t mentioned Sean’s name. If he’d been hurt then surely Dougie would have said something?

“Okay, we should go down to the gate. The quicker we can see the extent of their injuries and start any treatment, the better.”

Gesturing at Adam and Stephen to follow, Orlando picked up the emergency bag he’d so carefully packed and headed for the stairs. Despite his sense of urgency, Orlando followed Jimmy down at little more than his normal pace. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he slipped and incapacitated himself on the way down. 

They reached the gate and there he was greeted with the sight of a crowd of people milling around; some were obviously in shock and others like Graham, looked absolutely distraught. As he was moving forward Orlando searched frantically for a familiar face and was gratified when he saw Sean there, blood smeared but whole. On stretchers carried by some of the fighters were the three men Jimmy had mentioned. They were all unconscious and while Dean and Aidan had few in the way of visible injuries, Richard was lying on his stomach his back looking like a piece of raw meat.

“Right! Anyone who doesn’t need to be here, get out of the way,” Orlando ordered. He continued, “Adam, check on Dean, Stephen, you concentrate on Aidan and I’ll check on Richard. I want their vital signs noted and an initial triage examination before we move them inside. I’ll decide then who needs treatment most urgently.”

The chaos around the stretchers subsided almost immediately as most of the people began leaving. Taking a deep breath Orlando knelt and began his examination. When Sean crouched down beside him, Orlando stopped what he was doing for long enough to ask, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Lan, just tired.”

Orlando lifted one of Richard’s eyelids and tried to watch how his pupil reacted but it was difficult because his position meant that his face was mostly in shadow. “Have they all been unconscious the whole way back?”

Sean shook his head. “No, Aidan was awake until a few minutes ago. He seemed to be in some pain but would say if he was hurting. All he did was keep asking about the others. Dean hasn’t said anything coherent, just a lot of mumbling, before he went quiet. Richard has been out of it the whole time.”

Orlando nodded, “What happened to them to cause their injuries?”

“A grenade exploded close to them. Richard shielded the boys from the worst of it, which is why his back is such a mess.”

“Thanks, Sean, that helps a lot and narrows down what I need to look for.” 

“Can you help them?”

Orlando shook his head, “I won’t know until I’ve examined over properly but I hope so.” His lover was obviously distraught and exhausted and in a different situation he would have known his question was one Orlando couldn’t hope to answer at the moment. “Go and get some rest and some food if you can. I’ll come and find you as soon as I know anything for sure.”

~~~

After Orlando had headed off to the infirmary Sean made his way back to the main gates to wait for more casualties to come in. He knew he should probably go back to the site of the fighting to help move the injured but he was feeling selfish. He wanted to be close by to hear as soon as possible how Richard and his nephews were doing. He also wanted to make sure that Orlando didn’t work himself too hard.

From where he was sitting, on a rocky outcrop to the side of the main gate, he spotted some men walking slowly up the track. Before he could go to them Graham and several of the inhabitants from Erebor appeared. As Sean watched, those who were hurt were ushered off to have their wounds seen to and the others were taken towards the canteen for much needed food and drinks.

“Why don’t you go and get something to eat?” Sean jumped at the sudden sound as Graham reappeared and came over to stand next to him. “You’re going to fall asleep sitting there.”

“I’m okay. I’ll wait until the last of the men are back so I can let Steve and Davie know how everyone is.”

Graham nodded. “Aye, I can understand you wanting to do that. We might have been out of the army for a good many years but the old habits don’t die.” 

Sean shifted over so that Graham could sit down beside him. Silence reigned for a few moments before Graham spoke again, “To my mind we were lucky. There were more of the bastards and they were much harder to put down than I expected. We’re lucky that we managed to finish them off in the daylight. I got the feeling they could see much better in the dark than we do.”

Sean rubbed his eyes. They felt gritty and he was tired but he wasn’t going to go and rest until he knew the cost. “I just hope to hell that there aren’t any more organised groups of them out there.”

“Aye. Right now we –“

Graham broke off abruptly as another group of weary fighters came into view. Sean stood up, watching as they walked slowly up the slope. As they drew closer Sean realised that they were carrying a stretcher between them. Recognising some of them as Poolewe men, Sean moved towards them.

“Go, get some help.” Sean called back over his shoulder as he stumbled slightly on the uneven path. Graham didn’t respond, just waved an arm in acknowledgment as he disappeared into the mountain.

Sean saw that it was Jamie Galbraith on the stretcher. He was pale and lay there unmoving. Sean motioned the bearers forward, knowing trying to take hold of the stretcher would cause more delay. “Come on, you’re nearly there. Help is coming.”

After a few minutes of frantic activity Jamie was on his way to the infirmary and Sean had needed to forcibly restrain Dougie from following. Pulling the younger man aside Sean asked, “What happened? The fighting was over when I came back.”

Dougie’s gaze moved away and there was a hitch in his voice when he replied, “It was. We were looking for any of ours who were badly hurt or dead and an Orc suddenly pushed aside some bodies and jumped to his feet. He attacked Jamie because he was the closest. I took him down but I was too late to stop Jamie being hurt.” Dougie’s voice broke then and he covered his face with his hand.

Moving closer, Sean gripped his shoulder and then, when Dougie didn’t push him away, gathered the younger man into his arms and let him sob into his shoulder. He’d been the one Dougie had come out to first, even before his parents and Sean and Orlando had always tried to be there for him. Offering a quick prayer that Jamie would pull through, Sean held on to Dougie until he was calmer.

“Come on, lad, let’s go inside. I’ll see if I can raid Jimmy’s whisky stash. I think we could both use a drink right about now.”

~~~

Two hours later, everyone was back in Erebor and the final cost of the battle had been counted. Earlier Sean had passed Dougie over to Neil and his brother and now he was sitting in the canteen with food he didn’t particularly want in front of him. The soldier in him remembered that he needed to take any opportunity to eat and he did so, mechanically without tasting any of it. Finally, putting his spoon down, he pushed the empty bowl away. Graham had been right when he said they got off lightly. The only real casualties of the fighting had been Richard, the lads and young Jamie. Hoping that no news was good news, Sean folded his arms on the table and let his head dip forward until it was resting on them.

 **Day 4468: 5 August 2015**  
Sean couldn’t have said how long had passed or even if he’d slept when there was a touch on his head and fingers carded through his short hair. Lifting his head he saw Orlando standing beside him. Sean pushed back his chair and stood, bracing himself for bad news. His medical knowledge was adequate from his time in the army and, in their years together, he had learned a lot more from Orlando. He knew Jamie hadn’t looked good when he was brought in. 

Hating the necessity he asked, “Any news?” 

It was then that Sean noticed the slump of Orlando’s shoulders and the redness of his eyes. Wordlessly, he walked up to Sean and buried his face against his shoulder, sliding his hands around Sean’s waist in a grip that was painfully tight.

Clasping his arms around Orlando’s shoulders, Sean whispered, “Jamie? Does Dougie know?”

Orlando nodded and Sean found himself muttering meaningless words of solace while he felt Orlando’s breathing grow uneven and his shoulders shake. Like him Orlando had grown fond of the younger couple who had only come together a few months before. Dougie was going to be inconsolable. They’d have to keep a close eye on him.

Finally, sometime later, Orlando pulled away, scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve as he did so.

Dreading more bad news Sean asked, “How about Richard and the boys? How are they?”

“They’ve all been awake and talking off and on since we got them down to the infirmary. Apart from the burns on Richard’s back, which are serious and likely to scar, it’s mostly concussion, broken ribs and some minor cuts and bruising as far as I can tell. I don’t think there were any internal injuries but until they start exhibiting any symptoms I won’t know for sure. Our biggest problem is going to be keeping Richard’s back clean and avoiding infection.”

Before Orlando could continue, Adam appeared in the doorway. “Lan, you need to come back.”

Looking up Orlando pulled his overlong hair away from his face and fastened it back with a band that he pulled off one wrist. He stood but before he could move away, Sean grabbed his hand. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“It’s okay, Sean, we can cope. You should get some rest I can see you’re exhausted.”

“I’ll try as long as you promise you’ll take care of yourself too.”

Giving a faint smile Orlando nodded. “I will, Sean, don’t worry.”

Pulling him in for a brief kiss Sean smiled. “No, you won’t, but then you wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with. Go on, go and see to your patients I’ll try to get some sleep but get someone to come and find me if I can help in any way.”


	8. Day 4468: 5 August 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fighting is over, so what lies in store for our favourite men now?

After a couple of hours of fitful tossing and turning Sean gave up trying to sleep. He pulled some clean clothes out of his bag and, seeing his discarded ones on the floor, made a mental note to find a way to get them soaking in cold water to attempt to get the blood stains out. While there was some clothing still available, if you risked trips into the cities, it was getting more and more difficult to find things like jeans or fleece shirts, especially if you were of average size. Woollens were available, thanks to the industry of the Poolewe knitting community, though the process of shearing, washing, spinning and then actually constructing the garment made any items precious and not something that could quickly be replaced.

Once he had washed and dressed, Sean decided that his first priority was to find out how Richard and his nephews were getting on, so he headed down to the canteen. There were bound to be people there who could fill him in and that had the added benefit that he wouldn’t have to get in Orlando’s way in the infirmary.

The first people he saw when he got there were Graham and Ken. Walking over to their table, Sean sat down.

“Sean, how are you feeling this morning?” Ken was smiling which automatically reassured Sean. He wouldn’t be looking like that if anything bad had happened overnight. 

Sean carried out a rapid mental inventory and realised he didn’t actually feel much other than exhausted. “Not so bad, just tired. I imagine I wasn’t the only one who didn’t sleep that well last night.”

“Aye,” Graham answered, “I couldn’t sleep either, for worrying about Richard and the lads.”

“But,” Ken interrupted, “we’ve seen Orlando and Stephen this morning and everyone in the infirmary has come through the night with no signs of anything more serious than we knew for sure yesterday. Young Jamie was the only loss.”

“It’s a relief we’ve lost no one else but a tragedy for Jamie and his family. Dougie was understandably devastated.” Sean gave a deep sigh. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on him for a while I think.”

“Aye, the poor lad. Stephen told me that Orlando had given him something to help him sleep last night, but that he was up and wandering around like a lost soul from first light. Is there anything we can do for him?”

Before Sean could reply, Jimmy came over and placed a bowl of porridge, along with a jar of honey on the table in front of him. “Here, Sean, have something to eat. It’ll help.”

Wanting to protest that he wasn’t hungry, the turmoil of the last few days would surely have made him lose his appetite, Sean started to respond before realising exactly how hungry he was. Deciding that he could use the extra energy, he drizzled a generous spoonful of honey over his porridge before mixing it in.

He’d taken a large mouthful when he remembered he hadn’t answered Ken so, frantically trying to swallow without burning his mouth, he mumbled, “I’ll go and find him as soon as I’m done here and see what I can do to help.”

~~~

After spending a couple of hours with Dougie, Sean felt shattered. The younger man was overwhelmed with his grief and had sat in silence while Sean tried to talk to him. Because he hadn’t experienced the loss of a lover, Sean found it difficult to know what to do or say to try to help. In his past life, there had always been professional, qualified people around to help when tragic events had taken place. It was a relief, and something he felt incredibly guilty about, when Ken finally appeared and guided Dougie away to try to make him eat something.

Knowing that he ought to do something constructive, Sean headed back to their room intending to sort out his dirty clothes. Instead, when he got there, he saw Orlando sprawled across their bed, sound asleep. Orlando’s dirty clothes were in a heap on the floor and Sean could see from the light of the lantern still burning dimly in the room, that they were covered in darker patches which were most likely blood. Deciding to get both sets in cold water to soak, he closed the door as quietly as he could and leaned down to gather the two piles together.

“Sean?” Orlando’s voice was quiet but carried clearly enough for him to hear the exhaustion there.

“It’s okay, Lan, I’m just sorting out our clothes to get them in water before they are ruined.”

Sean looked over and Orlando had lifted himself on one elbow. “Leave them. Graham told me you didn’t sleep last night.”

Sean dropped the clothes and went over to sit on the edge of the bed. “When did you see Graham?”

“On my way here. You were with Dougie and he told me you hadn’t slept.”

Sean shrugged. “I suppose it’s hardly surprising.” Anxious to change the subject he asked, “Richard and his nephews, how are they?”

“Doing okay. Aidan and Dean are doing fine, they’ll be up and around in a couple of days. Mostly, I’m keeping them in the infirmary to make sure they get enough rest. Richard’s injuries will take a bit longer but I’m so used to treating the unenhanced people back in Poolewe that I forget how much it helps.” He patted the bed beside him. “Come on, Sean, I can see how tired you are. You need to sleep.”

Feeling his exhaustion dragging at him, Sean nodded. “Okay, just for a couple of hours though, there is a lot to do still.”

Shedding his clothes quickly, Sean got into bed lying on his back and lifting his arm so that Orlando could lie across him with his head on Sean’s chest. The familiarity of their position and the welcome sensation of Orlando’s weight meant that in moments Sean was sound asleep.

~~~

**Day 4478: 15 August 2015**  
Just after sunrise, some ten days later, Sean stood outside Erebor waiting for Orlando to finish giving instructions to Adam and Stephen and then join him. A few hundred yards away, at the head of the track down the hill, their ponies were loaded and waiting. 

The rest of the Poolewe men had set off a few days earlier, having been away from their families for nearly three months. He and Orlando had stayed behind until Orlando was satisfied that Richard was recovered sufficiently to avoid any possible complications. The main reason for the urgency to get the men home was so that they could help with the imminent harvest – all hands were going to be needed to ensure the safe collection and storage of their winter food supply. In the early years after the plague, it had been difficult to produce enough food to stop people going hungry over the winter months, and they had been fortunate that there had been food supplies around they could salvage. Those back up supplies were long gone, either already taken or now inedible.

As their route home would cover some of the same ground as that used by the Orcs on their way to Erebor, Steve and Davie had tried to insist that they should travel with an escort, just in case there were any stragglers around. Sean didn’t think there would be a problem, he’d seen how few Orcs had managed to escape the battlefield and also knew that none of those who had fled would have been uninjured. He had overruled them in the end, saying that they would spread their journey home over three days and two nights. That would give them some time alone, without any pressure to get back to Poolewe quickly.

He knew the decision was somewhat self-indulgent, but he was becoming increasingly concerned about Orlando’s workload. He could hope that being away for so long would have made the people of Poolewe more accustomed to being treated by either Will or Meg but he was enough of a realist to know that couldn’t be guaranteed.

He also felt a bit guilty at leaving Dougie without his support for a few days more but he had to set his priorities.

Finally, just when he was contemplating going to fetch him, he saw Orlando approaching with Dean and Aidan on either side of him. From the amount of arm waving going on the topic of conversation was something they found interesting.

“About bloody time,” Sean muttered and then wished he hadn’t when Orlando gave him a smug look showing he’d caught the comment and that he was fully aware of Sean’s impatience to set out on their way home and get some time to themselves.

Making a show of ignoring him Orlando turned to wait until Richard, still moving slowly because of his healing back, had joined the group. Sean walked over to them just in time to hear the last of the advice Orlando was giving to the Durin men. “Remember all of you need to take it easy. Richard, you’re not going to be fully healed for another couple of weeks and you two,” he gestured at Dean and Aidan, “You’re both recovering from head injuries and need some quiet time. I’ve left instructions with Adam and he knows to get in touch with me on the radio if there’s anything he’s concerned about.”

Before Richard could respond, Aidan chimed in, “Don’t worry, we’ll be careful and Graham has threatened to sit on uncle if he tries to do too much.”

Richard raised his eyes skyward and sighed before saying, “I’m sure with everyone keeping an eye on everyone else, we’ll be more likely to die of boredom.”

Looking over at Orlando to check he was ready Sean said, “Right then, we’d better get moving, we’ve a long way to go.” 

Richard stepped forward and held out his hand. Sean mirrored the action and they shook hands. “Please pass on our thanks to your people in Poolewe, without your help we would never have defeated Bolg and his followers. I also owe you my gratitude for your warning, Sean, without that I might have lost these hooligans.” Richard gestured at Dean and Aidan.

“I know we’ve said it before but if Bolg had taken Erebor, it would only have been a matter of time before his gaze turned towards us. So we had a fair dose of self interest in helping you.”

“You can dress it up however you wish but I will remember the debt we owe you all.”

~~~

**Day 4480: 17 August 2015**  
The sun was sinking low in the sky a couple of days later, as they walked their ponies along the final stretch towards Poolewe. When they came in sight of the barrier across the road Sean leant over and took Orlando’s hand. “I’ve enjoyed having you to myself for the last couple of days.”

They continued along the road, their clasped hands swinging between them. Orlando nodded. “It’s been good to get a break. I think I needed it more than I realised.”

“I could see how tired you were, so that’s why I want to try to implement some changes when we get back.”

“Changes? What sort of changes?”

“I want us to go over to Plockton soon and get to know Bard and his people. I think we need to start a much more formalised training programme for our youngsters. Seeing how most of the men in Erebor are older, there are a huge number of skills we are going to lose unless we do something quickly.”

“So you’re thinking of apprenticeships? Like in the old days where masters took on someone to train?”

“Exactly. My plan is to start with some sort of skills audit, so we know what crafts we have and then find those who want to learn them. We can make more plans when we all meet up for the memorial gathering in a few weeks. I was thinking of getting Dougie to take charge of organising some of the project. It will mean moving people around between our three locations…”

“That’ll go down well with Dean then,” Orlando grinned as he spoke.

“Dean? Why?”

“Apparently, Bard has a daughter whom he is pretty fond of, or so Aidan informed me.”

“Really? Well that could work well and we can include more communities when we make contact with them...”

Sean tailed off into silence when Orlando pulled his pony to a halt and slid off. “Lan, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Sean, absolutely nothing.” Orlando held out his hand to Sean, motioning for him to dismount.

A little confused as what was going on, Sean complied. Once he was on solid ground Orlando reached over and pulled him close, slipping an arm around his waist. “I don’t tell you enough but I love you. I love your enthusiasm, your ability to keep going when times are hard and your ability to inspire others. I wouldn’t have come this far alone, Sean, you need to know that.”

Folding his own arms around Orlando, Sean leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Aye, and I wouldn’t have survived without you either.”

Their ponies had already decided not to wait any longer for their dinner and had continued along the road. Muttering a prayer under his breath that everything would remain calm for at least the rest of the year, Sean took Orlando’s hand and together they followed their errant mounts home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for sticking with this - I can only apologies for the erratic posting schedule!


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